News•December 16, 2015 8:53 AM ET•5,522 views

Soundwave Fest 2017 not happening, 2016 in trouble

Soundwave, the annual music festival held in various Australian cities, will not be taking place in 2017. According to founder and promoter, AJ Maddah, the "stress" and "hate" isn't worth it:

@stevenhewitt91 @SheGoCrazi Definitely no SW17. It's a lot of hard work, stress & risk in return for which we get hate & stupidity #OverIt
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) December 15, 2015

First launched in 2007, the festival attracts a slew of big names each year. Past participants include Metallica, Soundgarden, Linkin Park, The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Slipknot, Iron Maiden, and Nine Inch Nails. In addition to scrapping the 2017 installment, Maddah says 2016 is in trouble as well. Soundwave relies upon advances to pay headliners, and there is apparently an ongoing dispute between Maddah and ticketing agency Eventopia. The issue has led bands like Bring Me The Horizon unable to commit to performing:

To anyone hoping to see us @soundwavefest we are awaiting some requested info & hope to 100% confirm our involvement this week. Hang tight.
— Bring Me The Horizon (@bmthofficial) December 13, 2015

Maddah had this to say just hours ago:

"Essentially here are the brief facts: Eventopia were supposed to give SW a scheduled advance to pay deposits to NOFX and Bring Me The Horizon. Their CFO changed her mind and decided not make the advance but didn't tell anyone. so we (SW and bands) waited and waited for money. If they had informed us that scheduled funds were cancelled, we could have made other arrangements. So now we are in bad situation. There have been discussions today. I'm waiting on Eventopia/Ticketek to make their decision. We cannot hold festival without their support."