The director of a north-east music festival has hit out at a national arts body after it withdrew funding from the event.
Creative Scotland had revealed its latest round of three-year Regular Funding yesterday, with Sound Festival missing out.
Currently in the middle of its 10th anniversary, Sound Festival organisers learned the news via email.
Fiona Robertson, festival director, said everyone involved with Sound was dismayed by the news.
She said: “There’s always a little niggling feeling at the back of your mind that your application will be rejected.
“But I don’t think anyone believed we would lose out on funding because we are in a quite strong position, as the only ‘new music’ festival in Scotland.”
Ms Robertson, who has already met with the organisation, claims they have lost out because Creative Scotland did not have the money to grant all the applications that were submitted.
She continued: “The feeling I got from my meeting is that we were a low priority because we are classed as a festival and should be able to apply for yearly funding.
“Our work isn’t just restricted to this time of year and we also book acts far in advance.
“This has huge implications for our future and how we can grow and bring exciting projects to Aberdeen and the north-east. It may also have implications for staffing.”
Creative Scotland does offer funding for one or two-years, but Ms Robertson says this would still work out as less money than would be made available through Regular Funding.
She added: “We’ve already had lots of calls from ‘new music’ artists, they’re concerned about their livelihoods too, there’s nowhere else that gives them this platform.”
A Creative Scotland spokeswoman said: “Creative Scotland value the work of Sound and realise how disappointed they will be in not accessing three-year funding this time round.
“We are aware this is especially difficult as the news has come whilst the 2014 festival is underway.
“We are working directly with all applicants that are not included in this Regular Funding portfolio to discuss existing and future funding routes open to them.
“Open Project Funding for activity and projects of up to two years opens for applications on October 31.”
