Acts booked by the Department May - June 2017

Summary

The Department for Enterprise disclosed details of acts booked for May-June 2017 at the Villa Marina and Gaiety Theatre, including names, venues, ticket sales, and base countries, but withheld fee information citing commercial interests.

Key Facts

• The request covered acts performing between 15 May 2017 and 14 June 2017 at the Villa Marina and Gaiety Theatre.
• Seven specific acts were listed in the response, including Aled Jones, Katherine Jenkins, and Razorlight.
• Ticket sales figures were provided for all listed performances, ranging from 584 to 1609.
• Fees paid to artists were withheld under section 30(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The Department determined that the public interest in maintaining commercial confidentiality outweighed the interest in transparency regarding fees.

Data Disclosed

• 15th May 2017
• 14th June 2017
• 21st May 2017
• 24th May 2017
• 27th May 2017
• 4th June 2017
• 6th June 2017
• 8th June 2017
• 9th June 2017
• 685
• 584
• 647
• 855
• 1294
• 632
• 1609
• section 30(2)(b)

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Commercial interests)

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

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Our Ref: IM92940I

Date: 25 July 2017

Dear

REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”)

Thank you for your request dated 26 June 2017. Your request Your request was as follows: “Can you please provide information on what acts, performers, artistes and bands were booked by the Department or any sub section of the Department during the period 15th May 2017 to 14th June 2017 inclusive.

Specifically:

The name of the acts, performers, artistes and bands The fee paid Ticket sales (excluding any complimentary tickets) The country in which the acts, performers, artistes and bands are ordinarily based”

The following day you emailed to clarified that 1) you wanted the names of acts etc that performed during the date range and 2) that the request related only to acts performing at the Villa Marina and/or Gaeity Theatre.

Response to your request All of the information you asked for, with the exception of the fees paid, can be found in the table below:

Department of Economic Development Rheynn Lhiasaghey Tarmaynagh

Steven Tallach Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor St Georges Court Upper Church Street Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624 685375)
Website: www.gov.im/ded Email: steven.tallach@gov.im

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Date Name of Artist / Group Venue Ticket Sales Ordinary Base 21st May 2017 Aled Jones Gaiety Theatre 685 United Kingdom 24th May 2017 Russel Kane Gaiety Theatre 584 United Kingdom 27th May 2017 Katherine Jenkins Villa Marina 647 United Kingdom 4th June 2017 Roy 'Chubby' Brown Gaiety Theatre 855 United Kingdom 6th June 2017 DC / AC Villa Marina 1294 Isle of Man 8th June 2017 Pigs on the Wing Villa Marina 632 Isle of Man 9th June 2017 Razorlight Villa Marina 1609 United Kingdom

In relation to your request for the fees paid for these artists, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because we consider that an exemption applies under section 30(2)(b). Section 30(2)(b) provides that requested information may be withheld if “its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the public authority holding it)”. In this case we consider that disclosure of the fees paid for the artists would be likely to harm the commercial interests of both the Department and of artists themselves. The reason we consider that disclosure of the fees paid for the artists is likely to harm the commercial interests of both the Department and the artists themselves is that the fees paid are confidential under the terms of contract with the artists/management companies. Release of the fees paid may: a) harm the negotiating position of the Department by encouraging artists to request similar fees when playing at the Villa Marina and Gaiety Theatre, when a smaller fee might otherwise have been requested; b) harm the negotiating position of the artists when negotiating with other venues for fees; and c) discourage artists from dealing with the Villa Marina/Gaiety Theatre if their fees are to be made public, as clauses within their contracts make clear that the information should not be disclosed. Release would therefore be likely to cause damage to business reputation. As section 30(2)(b) is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

The factor in favour of disclosing the information is:  transparency and showing how much money is spent by the public sector;

The factors in favour of maintaining the exemption are:  not harming enabling the Department to book events at the best possible price;  ensuring that artists and management companies are not put off from dealing with the Department through release of what they regard as commercially sensitive information.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information and maintaining the exemption, the Department has taken the following into consideration:

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 disclosure could severely impact on the Department’s and the artists’ ability to be competitive in the market place which could have further ramifications by reducing the number of those willing to deal with the Department;  the Department does not routinely publish such information;  there is no misinformation in relation to these artists that warrants disclosure; In taking all of these factors into account the the Department determines that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Your right to request a review If you are unhappy with this response to your Freedom of Information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post to me at the above address. An electronic version and paper version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website here: www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/freedom-of-information-review- request/

Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.
If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1 Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act; or 2 Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your rights to review is on the Information Commissioner’s website at: www.inforights.im/ Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about Freedom of Information requests can be found www.gov.im/foi.

Yours sincerely

Steven Tallach Freedom of Information Co-ordinator