MUMBAI: Red FM has announced the postponement of its new IP ‘Riders Music Festival’ due to the ongoing cash crunch caused by the government’s demonetisation drive.

The festival was scheduled for 3-4 December 2016 at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. The network will release the revised dates shortly as it plans to shift it to early 2017. After the government’s announcement pertaining to the new currency policy on 8 November and implications associated with it, organisers say they felt the current scenario won’t do justice to the attendees at the festival. Red FM finally decided to postpone the first edition of its festival.

Commenting on the announcement, Red FM COO Nisha Narayanan says, “We at Red FM were extremely thrilled to announce the first edition of our new IP ‘Riders Music Festival’ and were looking forward to its commencement. However, looking at the current scenario we felt postponing it will be a wise decision and very fair from both listeners and business standpoint. Due to demonetisation, businesses across sectors have been impacted. The more organised retail sector which holds a big chunk of radio advertising has also been hit by demonetisation with people spending only on necessities.”

She added, “Needless to say, this will have no impact on our enthusiasm to launch this festival; we continue to be excited and will deliver a platform to listeners with high entertainment decibel.”

Red FM in association with Phoenix Live has been undertaking multiple initiatives to create buzz around the festival across the capital region.