The event promoter, Primavera Sound SL, received these public funds to finance the activities of Primavera Pro, the music industry gathering organized alongside the main festival in Barcelona. According to the recent report by the Sindicatura de Cuentas (Audit Office), these grants were awarded “by direct appointment,” despite the existence of open calls for festivals where the project could have competed.
During the period between 2018 and 2023, the Ministry of Culture, through the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC), allocated between 150,000 and 180,000 euros annually to the entity. Between 2021 and 2023, the subsidy remained at 180,000 euros per year, which, according to the auditing body, casts doubt on a possible preferential treatment towards the music event.
“"Primavera Pro is one of the few professional market spaces in Catalonia with a global reach, where Catalan music and Catalan companies in the sector are present."
The Department of Culture defends that this is an excluded subsidy, arguing that the nature of Primavera Pro (a professional market activity) does not fit within the ICEC lines designated for “projects with artistic activities.” However, the Sindicatura considers this defense weak, noting that there is a call for music festivals of high cultural interest where the project could have competed.
The report also points out that Primavera Sound S.L. received over 100,000 euros in public funds while failing to comply with the Transparency Law, as it did not have the mandatory public Transparency Portal accessible on its website. In 2023, the Ministry of Culture distributed over 62 million euros in direct subsidies, and the Sindicatura concluded that most of these procedures lacked sufficient justification.
