Intent on doubling or trebling revenue from events, Fairfax Media has changed the business model for its national music talent search… by dumping the ‘paywall’.

Instead of a closed ticketed event, last week’s Toyota StarMaker quest – organised by Fairfax’s Rural Press Events division – was out in the open, with a quoted $100,000-worth of prizes, SMS voting, and a giant sponsor.

A estimated 40,000 people brought chairs - and ponchos and umbrellas, as rain threatened - to watch the free talent final event in Tamworth’s Centennial Park, one of the twin highlights of the NSW town’s annual country music festival. There a giant temporary stage (for which, like the festival itself, Toyota also had naming rights) dwarfed the disused council one alongside.

Members of the audience – and those listening to radio or online – were asked to vote up to three times, while judges’ ratings counted for 50 per cent of the decision. During the event, I didn’t see an SMS cost quoted, either live or in a free programme which included ads for sponsors and/or prize donors and profiles of the four finalists, selected at a ticket event a few days before.

Admission to the park – and the concert by Toyota-sponsored past winner Lee Kernaghan which followed – was free with a collection taken for the McGrath Foundation supporting rural cancer nursing.

The name of car, ute and 4WD maker Toyota – whose logo lends itself to country interpretations (think hat, horns) – was everywhere to be seen.

Recent years have seen Fairfax’s RPE become one of the major commercial forces in the week-long event, the others being the regional council – where former (Fairfax) Northern Daily Leader managing editor John Sommerlad now presides as festival director – and of course, the beer and liquor marketers.

The ‘freemium’ business model is an interesting one for events: In an age where too many still steal music or expect it for free – one comment last week was that country music fans are big buyers of music because they haven’t worked out how to steal it – and many younger generation fans are barred from gigs by ticket prices, the Fairfax formula has brought a far younger demographic to an old favourite ... the bottom line will be interesting.

Peter Coleman