Coachella sued over 'radius clause'

Coachella makes some serious noise every year
for bringing huge acts into Indio, California. But a music festival in Oregon says something
sounds a bit off. It argues Coachella keeps artists from performing
at other fests. The Portland-based company behind the Soul'd
Out Music Festival is suing the organizers of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
for "unfair competition" and "unlawful restraint on trade." This is because of a strategy Soul'd Out argues
Coachella uses to make sure it's the only attraction around.

At the heart of the lawsuit is Coachella's
"radius clause." The Oregon festival argues that condition
prevents artists from performing at other music festivals in the region, leading up
to and after their appearances at Coachella. Soul'd Out claims that Coachella's radius
clause extends more than 1,000 miles from Indio  affecting the West Coast, Arizona
and Nevada  and lasts for almost half the year surrounding artists' sets at Coachella
(from Dec. 15, 2017, Until May 7, 2018). Soul'd Out argues in the lawsuit it's missed
out on landing artists like Tank and The Bangas, SZA and Daniel Caesar because of the Coachella
clause.

It's important to note that something like
a radius clause isn't anything new in the live music industry. And in a way, it can ensure festivals that
book musicians are protected from other events riding their coattails. Radius clauses aren't all alike, and booking
agents usually negotiate the stipulations. That could be partly why an artist like Noname
can perform at both Coachella and Soul'd Out.

Artists who've signed onto Coachella's radius
clause haven't spoken out on the details. And we can only speculate as to why those
artists turned down Soul'd Out. Whether or not Coachella's artist stipulations
have affected other festivals could be a big factor in deciding if the California festival
is out of line. Depending on how far this case goes, it could
have an effect on a common industry practice.

Meanwhile, Goldenvoice, LLC  a co-defendant
in the lawsuit  said in a statement: Soul'd Out wants to have Coachella's radius
clause to be voided and demands triple the amount of compensation for damages..