When Wez Saunders made the decision to raise the capital to buy the Defected empire of companies in 2022, questions inevitably arose as to what he wanted to do with it. No one spends a vast amount of money – rumoured to be comfortably in eight figures – on a business without a plan to do something with it.
One thing that Saunders has certainly done is focused on expanding the number of festivals that Defected does – heading into the likes of Australia and New Zealand for the first time. There are also plans to bring Brand Defected into the USA – or at least, that’s what their transatlantic partnership with The Circuit Group hopes to do.
But what else is Saunders planning on doing? Ears To The House has been told by a reliable source that Defected wants to expand its repertoire of artists over the next few years – and judging by the looks of the first phase lineup revealed for Defected’s shortened Croatia festival next year, perhaps that’s just as well…
This site has previously spoken about the phenomenon of the McDonald’s style festival – because just like with the fast food restaurant, the fare available at all of them is pretty much the same. And just like with McDonald’s, the food fills a hole at the time – but not much else.
It’s a phenomenon that’s brilliant for the higher echelon DJs who are on the circuit – they get booked everywhere and can keep charging the same ridiculous fees each time. But for anyone who hasn’t got the fame, connections, or occasionally even talent to get there, it’s bad news.
If this is seriously the best that Defected can do, the most generous description we’re able to make of the lineup is it’s got about as much life as a three-day old Big Mac. A large Big Mac, because the whole lineup obviously hasn’t been released yet, but still a stale one.
A more curious statement announces thar Defected has entered into yet another partnership – something of a buzzword for the company at the moment. But who are Klarna? A quick look online reveals that they’re a buy now, pay later company – founded in Sweden back in 2005.
The good news for anyone paying in this way? Unlike on a conventional credit card, no interest is charged on the debt – although late payment fees do. The bad news? Well, certain protections no longer apply.
In the UK, Section 75 laws mean that credit card providers must give protection to all payments over £100 and less than £30,000. That means in the admittedly very unlikely event that Defected collapses and the Croatia festival no longer happens, those who paid via credit card can apply for refunds.
Klarna customers would have to rely on chargeback policies – a weaker form of protection traditionally used on debit cards. We’re not quite sure that suggesting your customers get into debt alongside cute looking 😍 emojis is a particularly smart policy, Wez…
