Coachella Radius Clause Lawsuit Dismissed… For Now
A radius and anti-competition lawsuit filed against AEG and their festival promoter Goldenvoice over clauses in contracts for their Coachella festival has been partially dismissed by a federal judge.
According to Billboard, US federal judge Michael Mosman granted AEG’s motion to dismiss but declined to rule on key elements of the suit. The judge also left the door open for Soul’d Out to file an amended complaint by Oct. 25, Billboard reported.
“Establishing the correct product market is something the courts require with a degree of particularity [in regards to anti-trust complaints],” Nika Aldrich, an attorney who filed the suit against Goldenvoice told Billboard.
The suit, filed by the producers of Oregon festival Soul’d Out in April, alleged that the radius clause in Coachella’s performance contract was anti-competitive, and “sucked the oxygen” out of the market, especially for smaller festivals. The clause, which Dave Brooks of Amplify and Billboard noted earlier this year encompassed effectively all of North America, barred artists who wanted to perform at Coachella from playing at other festivals in the radius from Dec. 15 to May 1.
