When she first saw the bill for the Pandemonium Rocks music festival, Georgiana Mannion thought it looked too good to be true. The Brisbane-based musician is a lifelong fan of the legendary US punk act, the Dead Kennedys, and was eager to see British alt-rockers Placebo play.

The festival, scheduled in five Australian cities from Brisbane down to Melbourne over April 2024, advertised 13 hard rock headliners, among them Deep Purple, Blondie and Alice Cooper. Mannion snapped up tickets as part of a Valentine’s Day two-for-one deal.

When seven of the headliners withdrew from the lineup just two weeks before the event, rumours began flying that the whole festival was being axed. Pandemonium went ahead, but as a shadow of its promised self.

The event’s downsizing reflects a trend that’s threatening the festival industry and frustrating consumers. Byron Bay’s Bluesfest, a fixture for national and international performers since 1990, will finish in 2025, organisers announced on Tuesday. This comes on the heels of the cancellation of the Splendour in the Grass festival, which was due to be held in July, the Falls festival, Groovin the Moo and many smaller events which have been downsized or cancelled.

The cancellations, often due to low ticket sales, have had a cascading effect, undermining the confidence of music fans and damaging the prospects for future events. Music fans argue that ensuring more transparency and full refunds will be critical to restoring confidence.

Mannion first heard rumours that Pandemonium might be cancelled in comments posted on the event’s Facebook page. “People were getting very suspicious, but the organisers hadn’t said anything yet.” On March 21, a report from Nine News claimed Pandemonium had been cancelled.

Pandemonium responded on March 22, saying on social media: “YES, We saw the news reports. NO, Pandemonium is not cancelled.” Shortly after, it posted news that the festival would be a one-stage event with an amended lineup, but with no details on which bands would be turning up.

Another ticket holder, Maxine, who requested her surname be withheld, had tickets to the Melbourne date. She and a friend splashed out because they “used to go to all of the Soundwave and Good Things festivals, so after not heading to a festival in a couple of years I was keen”. Like Mannion, she had hoped to see Dead Kennedys and Placebo, which both withdrew.

Mannion and Maxine said they never received any direct word from the festival organisers about whether it would go ahead, or if it did which headliners would be playing. “There was no email communication,” according to Mannion. “I’d emailed them asking if Placebo were playing and I got no response.”

Pandemonium’s promoter, Apex Entertainment, could not be reached for comment. Pandemonium Rocks did not reply to requests for comment.

The festival later said that refunds would be limited to a $70 reimbursement, a complimentary ticket, or a Pandemonium Rocks hoodie. Refunds would not be available to anyone who had purchased their tickets at a discount.

Both Mannion and Maxine bought their tickets as part of a two-for-one Valentine’s Day promotion, leaving them ineligible for any refunds. A single general admission ticket was $275, though the price for a new ticket was lowered to $190 after the lineup was changed.

Maxine decided to go to the festival anyway after she heard she would not be getting a refund.

The festival itself “was pretty bare bones”, according to Maxine. “I think because they dropped a stage it made it feel incomplete.

“The lack of communication or clarity around what was happening was really poor.”

“They sent a form out about the ‘refunds’, but that didn’t apply to anyone who purchased a discounted ticket. They didn’t confirm set times until the day before. As per my [Reddit] post, signage on where to go on the day was pretty poor.”

Mannion said Pandemonium did not reply to her requests for a refund, but she did eventually receive a full refund through a chargeback from Commonwealth Bank.

She started a petition on change.org to ask Pandemonium Rocks to provide full refunds to all ticket holders, including those with discounted tickets, which currently has more than 1200 signatures. Her petition has not been acknowledged by Pandemonium or its promoter Apex Entertainment.

Questioned about the rights of ticket holders in such circumstances, Consumer Affairs Victoria said it could not comment on specific businesses. However, a spokesperson said ticketholders may be entitled to a refund “where an event is cancelled or significantly changed” depending on “the reason for the cancellation or change, the nature of the change, and the terms and conditions of the ticket.”

“Examples of a major change might be where the headline act at a festival is changed, or where the location of a show is changed from one city to another.”

According to Consumer Affairs Victoria, buyers “have the same legal refund rights on sale items as they would have on full-price products”.

Apex CEO Andrew MacManus told the ABC that the festival’s ticket sales “were not what we expected”.

Low ticket sales have been a widespread issue among the music festival industry recently, with festivals like Groovin’ the Moo, Coastal Jam, and Splendour in the Grass all being cancelled this year.

According to Dr Guy Morrow, a senior lecturer in arts and cultural management at the University of Melbourne, the trend of festival cancellations started during the pandemic. “Obviously during lockdowns festivals were not an option for young people, but then once the world opened back up, a whole generation had missed the ritual of attending festivals as a rite of passage.”

Morrow said the economy and exchange rates have contributed to festival cancellations. “Key international artists can become unobtainable if the value of the [Australian dollar] drops.”

Negative experiences at recent festivals have also had a compounding effect on ticket sales, he said. “The year before last, [Splendour in the Grass] flooded badly and many attendees had a bad experience. This all made consumers hesitant to buy tickets straight away.”

For consumers, these cancellations have led to disappointment — and in Pandemonium Rocks’ case, dissatisfaction with the lack of communication or refunds.

“I was pretty frustrated. The main couple of bands I wanted to see had been pulled,” said Maxine.

“I think it has been completely disorganised. I feel like I have been ripped off by the organisers, and I don’t feel like I’ve been communicated with,” Mannion said.