Why festivals are failing as live music is booming – and the battle for Western Springs

Campbell Smith trained as a lawyer, but was quickly drawn into the music business. He started out offering advice on bFM, then began representing artists like Brooke Fraser and The Naked and Famous. Then came his first promotional gig – running one of the country's most iconic festivals in the Big Day Out. At the same time he represented recorded music rights holders in a doomed battle against music downloading in the Napster era. He joins Duncan Greive to reflect on all this and discuss the current state of live music, while explaining his decision to wind down his management career, and his involvement with the campaign to turn Western Springs into a permanent music venue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices