All Tomorrow’s Parties turns off sound

The once-pioneering British festival promoter All Tomorrow’s Parties is closing after a series of payment disputes, cancellations and bad publicity. 

The latest issue was earlier this week when Múm, Blanck Mass and Fabio Frizzi pulled out of ATP Iceland (July 1-3) over “contractual issues”.

Promoters announced on their Facebook page, "It is with deep sadness we are announcing that ATP Festivals and live promotions are closing down. After months of speculation, our funding for Iceland has been pulled and we are no longer able to continue so will be closing down the entire live side of ATP festivals and live promotions with immediate effect and going into administration.

"We are very sorry we could not make this work and have tried to survive throughout all our recent losses but we are no longer able to trade and have to accept we cannot go on.”

Although the Iceland event was axed, other UK shows with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and film director/composer John Carpenter will continue after being handballed to other promoters. 

Founded in 1999 by Barry Hogan and named after a Velvet Underground song, it announced it would be "intimate, non-corporate and fan-friendly.” its success was virtually assured, as the festival scene was becoming corporate and routine. 

All Tomorrow’s Parties commissioned influential artists as Pavement, Sonic Youth, Portishead, The Mars Volta, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The National, The Flaming Lips, The Breeders and The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening to curate their events.

It popularised the concept of entire classic albums being performed live and music festivals staged at holiday camps. 

In 2009 an Australian edition was curated by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

In recent years, the ATP brand was tarnished with last minute cancellations of London’s Jabberwocky, and an event in North Wales to be curated by Drive Like Jehu. Prior to that, the company went into liquidation in June 2012 with a reported debt of £2.6 million (A$5 million).