“I am not going to be too hard on my former management,” he wrote on Instagram. “They spread themselves too thin trying to support their people, and stuffed up the numbers.”
Not all of Ivanoff’s clients were so forgiving. Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of complicating legal actions others might be pursuing, one said: “Since Junkyard went insolvent, a lot of artists have been talking to each other, and realising that he owed more of his artists money than we thought.
“The artists haven’t been paid, and crew and other staff haven’t been paid.”
Junkyard Artists director Craig IvanoffCredit:
The timing is especially poor for comedians: Fringe World in Perth, which traditionally marks the start of the festival touring season, is just two months away.
The Junkyard artists are now scrambling to find new management and producers, and to create publicity campaigns in time for their festival shows, in which they would typically expect to make the bulk of their yearly income.
Though many of the comedians spoke to this masthead about their frustration and concerns that they might never receive the money owed to them – in some cases, amounts totalling tens of thousands of dollars – few wanted to go on the record to attack their former management. In some cases that was due to legal concerns, in others a fear that it would jeopardise their efforts to recoup losses, in yet others the sense that the whole affair would affect their reputation in an already precarious industry.
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For some, it was simply a matter of returning the loyalty they felt they had themselves been shown.
Junkyard was known in the comedy scene for its generous support of up-and-comers. This year the company paid for almost a dozen Australian comics to perform seasons at the Edinburgh Festival, covering their travel costs, venue hire, accommodation and marketing. Junkyard also flew comedians to New York and Los Angeles to perform in Australian showcases.
But Junkyard’s “artist first” style meant Ivanoff rarely put things in writing – one source says that deals were “all done on a handshake and a phone call” – which makes proving lost incomes that much harder.
Junkyard’s business structure meant fees for a gig went directly to the company, which would then pay the artist involved.
Now that Ivanoff’s various companies have gone into liquidation, artists have had to contact the liquidator and register as creditors in the hope that they might be able to recover some of their lost earnings.
Comic Sam Campbell upon winning the Barry Award in 2018. Credit: Paul Jeffers
It wasn’t just live comedy. In 2020 Ivanoff set up West Side Sports, a company handling film and TV projects. Last year it received $200,000 to create a pilot as part of Screen Australia and the ABC’s Fresh Blood initiative. West Side Sports went into liquidation the same day as Junkyard.
Another company established in 2018 to manage the Gold Coast Laughs festival, of which Ivanoff was a co-director, was deregistered in August this year.
The fate of the outstanding debts for Junkyard’s roster is now in the hands of the liquidator, who is waiting on access to the company’s files before trying to identify and secure any assets.
When approached by this masthead, Ivanoff said: “I don’t have any comment.”
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