Jayden Bath, who runs Loch Hart Music Festival on the Great Ocean Road in Princetown, said he was shocked by the news Splendour in the Grass had been cancelled a week after tickets went on sale.

Splendour organisers made the announcement on March 27, 2024, citing "unexpected events" for the decision.

It is the latest in a string of music festivals to be called off including Groovin the Moo, which was canned due to poor ticket sales.

Mr Bath said the loss was a "real tragedy", particularly for Groovin the Moo - a unique touring festival across regional Australia.

"I think this is the first time we aren't seeing these mega events getting an early buy-in," he said.

"Traditionally festivals go on sale and I would estimate they'd see anywhere from 70 to 100 per cent of ticket allocation gone in the first 24 to 48 hours. When that doesn't happen it's really scary because ultimately if people don't act straight away, they won't buy until the very last minute or not at all."

Mr Bath said for a festival like Splendour, which has up to 50,000 people per day, the first few days of ticket sales were crucial.

"If they don't see the necessary sales or buy-in on the first day or two then ultimately they aren't feasible," he said.

"We're talking about tens of millions of dollars of losses."

Mr Bath said the market was a self-perpetrating ecosystem where "because things don't sell out, things don't sell out".

"Everyone gets used to events not selling out and then they have the ability to buy later," he said.

"Ticket re-selling platforms have enabled that overall shift of not needing to buy early."

Mr Bath said he believed the industry was suffering from a change in behaviour, rather than a cost of living crisis.

"I appreciate that everything is more expensive right now, however 300,000 people went and saw Taylor Swift at the MCG and it cost as much to go to that as it does to see 30-plus artists at a music festival," he said.

"I think people are more careful with what they pick and choose rather than being able to do it all."

In December 2023 Mr Bath and the Loch Hart crew were honest with their audience and said if they didn't sell another 300 tickets in one week the January 2024 event would not go ahead.

"We dubbed it our 'Hail Mary' post (on social media)," Mr Bath said.

"Instead of just cancelling, which definitely crossed our minds, we thought we may as well try and see if everyone would just get around it if we were really honest about what was happening."

It worked with music lovers purchasing tickets in droves, allowing the fifth iteration of the festival to run.

"I think people know we are a community-orientated festival that is far from a commercial venture and so just owning that and telling people how it is was helpful - clearly," Mr Bath said.

Now, in the face of an uncertain future, Loch Hart has announced a buy-in model where punters can pledge their support by joining the Loched-In Club and paying a $50 deposit for Loch Hart 2025.

Mr Bath said members also received a custom piece of merchandise, access to a private launch party and early access to cheap tickets.

"In exchange, members give us the confidence we need to plan for January 2025," he said.

The Melbourne man, who grew up in Colac and frequents Princetown, said he was hopeful the event would go ahead next year but was anxious about the industry's future.

"I am worried because this feels like the biggest festival news since Big Day Out (which ended in 2014 after 20 years)," he said.

"My dream is that Loch Hart continues on but the current model needs to change for festivals to survive.

"It'll be interesting to see what happens from here."