Those festivals certainly do play a really important role in the development of the artists' careers. They are often the gateway for new or mid-level artists. We did a small study that showed that festivals with fifty or so artists is like being at a huge buffet. You can consume a lot of culture and meet a lot of artists. Then you can choose to go and see them elsewhere. Festivals are an important complement to, say, the independent performance facilities that Jon Weisz represents. It's a continuum.
Certainly, funding is always a challenge. The problem we have with Canadian Heritage is that the department gives us some money, but not more money, despite there being more festivals. Here's an example: we receive $25,000 for a festival. When we apply for the same festival the next year, we receive $22,000. Funding decreases because the feds distribute their funds to all eligible festivals.
So there are two solutions: Either provide more money, or turn off the tap and have no additional festivals. Except that—