Burning Man has been a staple of Nevada culture since 1986, and since 1991 when it officially moved to Black Rock City. Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell sat down with Brandon Beachum of the Positive Head Podcast to shed light on a number of this year’s unique organizational challenges.
Over the years, the event has seen population grow from a meager couple dozen to a maximum of 68,000, a number imposed upon the event by the Bureau of Land Management. Goodell has called the limit “inorganically conservative,” stating, “That’s not something we’re doing willingly.” With desire to attend Burning Man growing each year, the limit hurts potential Burners and limits expansion.
However, Burning Man faces an even more dire challenge in the coming year as it fights against Nevada’s allegedly unfair entertainment tax. The tax is set at a staggering 9%, which is “crippling revenue flows and long-term sustainability.”
“The biggest danger facing Burning Man right now is that the State of Nevada has levied an entertainment tax,” Goodell stated further. “We still believe that we don’t fit under a form of entertainment. Frankly, we’re not a Las Vegas show. We’re not a car race or a concert in a stadium.”
The event, which even goes so far as to decry the term festival, preferring to call it an “experiment in temporary community,” is looking toward possibly relocating for the first time in nearly 16 years.
Goodell mentioned Utah as a possible solution.
This is by no means a final decision and I’m positive that Black Rock City, LLC will inform Burners of any new information that comes to light. For now, this “temporary community’s” fate is up in the air.
Listen to the podcast below.
H/T Thump
