Report: Electric Zoo fiasco caused in part by organizers’ failure to pay 2022 vendors

Last Friday (September 1), the organizers of Electric Zoo were forced to cancel the entire first day of this year’s festival when its main stage failed a New York City safety inspection just hours before the gates at Randall’s Island were scheduled to open. In a statement explaining the cancellation, EZoo’s promoter, Made Events, blamed it on “global supply chain disruptions [that] have impacted industries worldwide.” But a report published on Wednesday, September 6 by Billboard cites “touring industry sources” who claim that the real reason for the fiasco was Made Events’ failure to pay its 2022 vendors, leading to a lack of seasoned live music professionals willing to work the event.

Last July, Made Events was purchased by the same Swiss investment firm that owns Avant Gardner, a Brooklyn venue complex that has also had its fair share of serious legal issues of late. The FADER has reached out to Avant Gardner for further comment on Billboard’s report.

Electric Zoo 2023’s issues didn’t end with the festival’s Friday cancellation. The safety concerns outlined by city officials took Made Events a full 24 hours to address, delaying EZoo’s Saturday opening by two hours. Festival goers additionally reported hours-long wait times and wristbands that never arrived in the mail. On Sunday, the event’s organizers cut off access to the festival with many ticket holders still outside the gates when the site reached maximum capacity for “unknown reasons.” Scores of EDM fans continued to board ferries to the island despite the festival’s warnings, and many hopped fences or pushed through security checkpoints in groups, according to Billboard.

Made Events sent the following message to CBS on Tuesday in response to a request for comment on the issues that plagued EZoo 2023: “The vast majority of Electric Zoo attendees had a great experience, but our job is to make sure everyone’s experience is phenomenal. We’ll be working closely with our partners to review the planning and execution of the event from start to finish.”

On Wednesday, N.Y.C. Mayor Eric Adamssaid said the city would be taking action against Electric Zoo. “It’s unfortunate organizers wanted to turn our city into a zoo, and we were not going to allow that to happen,” he stated in a press conference. “We will be dealing with them in the next few days based on their behavior and actions.”