But Maddah claimed Homebake knew well in advance that Harvest was to move and that its "key stakeholder" Michael Chugg agreed with him that it would help both events. "This is lamest excuse I've heard for a festival cancellation and I've had a few lame ones myself," Maddah said. "We were both pleased with the cost savings and sharing infrastructure costs. How did Harvest being at the Domain force them to move when all parties were happy to have both events there?" Homebake organisers have been contacted for a response to Maddah's allegations. Notwithstanding the claims and counter claims, one thing now seems certain: Australian punters have not been buying enough tickets to keep all festivals afloat. The Australian festival calendar was overcrowded and the recent cancellations amount to a market correction that many expected. So far this year several music festivals have been cancelled, including Harvest, Movement and Pyramid Rock. Parklife was downsized, while indigenous event Boomerang went ahead despite disappointing ticket sales. Supafest is understood to be in deep financial trouble and many believe it won’t go ahead next month. Future Music festival is going ahead, despite big debts incurred by Future Entertainment, after Michael Gudinski stepped in as financier. The Big Day Out cancelled its planned second day in Sydney for 2014 and is understood to be facing a big loss.

Homebake promoters released a statement this morning saying "it is with heavy hearts that we announce that Homebake 2013 has been cancelled" and that developments were "heartbreaking". It cited a poor reaction on social media to the planned format change for 2013 as the main reason for the cancellation - another way of saying Homebake fans rejected the new venue and format and didn't buy enough tickets to save it. Homebake has been held each year in Sydney since 1996, when it started at Byron Bay - except 2010 when organisers cancelled saying they could not secure the quality of lineup they wanted. It was held in the Domain since 2000 and regularly attracted crowds of between 15,000-20,000 fans. Former Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning, Paul Kelly, Gurrurmul Yunupingu and The Presets were among the acts due to play at the event. But social media reaction to the change also included criticism the line-up was not strong enough and that the ticket prices - which started at $118.35 per day - was too high. Reaction to the cancellation on social media was immediate and reflective rather than angry: "Sad day for Aus music [sic]" wrote Dean Ingram on Homebake's Facebook page, while many echoed Justine McNamara's comment: "That's what happens when you mess with perfection." Dean Mitchell wrote: "The festival bubble is beginning to pop," a sentiment there can be no argument with now. A Homebake spokesperson told Fairfax around midday the organisation was "hopeful" of returning in 2014, but "right now we are just dealing with the present circumstances and the promoters are yet to reconvene regarding future events."

Refunds will be handled by the Sydney Opera House box office (02) 9250 7777. Oztix ticket buyers should contact Oztix direct on 1300 762 545 or via email at http://tickets.oztix.com.au/contactus.aspx.