I think this boils down to - something in the organisation of the festival needs to change in order to sustain the current artistic programme with the current ammount of money generated. If the festival is making a loss and will bankrupt Mrs Casey in the event of a wet year, then Mrs Casey are not up to continuing to run the festival. There are other companies more than qualified to run Sidmouth, its just that they exist more in the mainstream world than in the cosy folk-clique that we all know and "love".

This is big business and it needs somebody of equal stature to run it. It does not mean the festival must "sell out" or change in ethos or outlook, it just means that the money generated has to go a bit further than it already does. I can well imagine a mainstream promotion company employing a suitable artistic director to run Sidmouth for them while underwriting its future. I personally would rather see this happen than the businesses of Sidmouth all to contribute to a 'rainy day' fund, because once that money is wiped out it all has to happen all over again. At least a bigger company is in the business of taking risks with its money.