The audit, delivered on Tuesday, found NT$8.6 million (about €245,000) in deductions across crew payroll accounts tied to the festival’s “Soundshare” plan. The event, held at a former sugar depot in Taichung from 25 to 27 September, drew 46,000 ticket-holders for performances including the electronic artist Sola Venn.
Auditor Valérie Picard reviewed payroll records, equipment inventories and sign-up forms for the festival’s 612 contractors. Only 41 had signed consent forms, her report found. All 83 speaker units listed in the scheme’s purchase records still appeared on the festival’s own equipment register, with no transfer of ownership to workers.
The speakers that never changed hands
Soundshare was presented to technicians as a way to buy audio equipment through instalments deducted from festival pay, with ownership promised after 24 months. The audit found deductions ranging from NT$1,900 to NT$14,600 per worker, depending on shifts and role. Some crew were charged for equipment they had handled during the festival but had no right to take home.
The accounting puzzle was stranger still: the same 83 serial-numbered speakers appeared in hundreds of workers’ purchase schedules. Picard said the records did not show any shared-ownership agreement or individual allocation. “The money went out of workers’ pay, but the equipment stayed on the festival’s books,” she said.
Bas Mathurin, a freelance sound technician who worked six shifts, said he noticed a NT$7,200 deduction only after checking his bank account. He said a supervisor had described Soundshare as an optional way to build up credit for equipment. “I thought I was being paid for the shifts. I didn’t expect the speakers to send me a bill,” he said.
Refunds and a labour review
Festival director Ádám Szőke-Veres said the deductions were meant to fund an optional crew benefit and that the organisers had not understood how the payment records were being applied. He said repayments would begin within 30 days, with interest, and that the programme had been suspended. The festival has not announced whether it will hold next year’s event.
Taichung’s labour inspection office said it had opened a review of the payroll arrangements and asked the organisers to provide contracts and payment records by 14 October. Under Taiwan’s labour rules, pay deductions generally require a clear legal basis and workers’ agreement. The office did not say whether penalties would follow.
The audit also found that 571 crew accounts lacked a signed opt-in form, while 96 workers had been charged after their contracts ended. Picard recommended that every affected worker receive an itemised calculation before repayment. The festival’s ticketing team said refunds for attendees were not planned, as the audit concerned crew payments rather than ticket revenue.
Venn, whose set closed the final night, said she would not perform at another Eastbank event until the repayments were complete. Several crew members gathered outside the depot on Tuesday to compare their pay slips; Mathurin said the group was now checking whether any other deductions had been filed under equipment or accommodation.
