It’s no secret in the dance music world that HARD founder Gary Richards and Insomniac head honcho, Pasquale Rotella have had their issues over the past several years. The two companies have been feuding over a number of things causing fans to suffer as lineups for both HARD, EDC, and all events put on by the promoters become restricted.
Almost two years ago back in April 2015, Richards filed a trademark suit against Rotella telling him that he may no longer use the name Electric Daisy Carnival. Richards actually came up with the name back in the late 90s and threw several events under the moniker before surrendering it to Rotella to use since Richards had concluded throwing events with the name.
As a result of this ongoing feud, HARD Summer and the Electric Daisy Carnival – more commonly referred to as EDC – have not shared any artists on their lineups, with the exception of an unannounced Dillon Francis 2015 EDC set, for the past several years.
This is a clause that isn’t uncommon in the modern world of festivals, although it may seem unfair to the artists, who may not get to play one festival because they are playing another, and to the fans who may not be able to see their favorite DJ because they are attending one festival and not the other.
It has been alleged that both companies issue these exclusivity clauses that forbid them from being on the lineup for the opposing festival. However, following the release of the HARD Summer 10 year anniversary lineup, Richards tweeted out that he never blocks artists from playing other shows and alludes to the fact that Insomniac is the only company who does this.
Richards went on to tweet about how anybody who is not allowed to be on the actual lineup for his festival is welcome to play with him during his set, which technically would not violate the terms of the exclusivity agreement.
OWLSA signee Mija, has been tweeting with Richards expressing how she wants to play HARD but is contractually not allowed and how all she wants is to ”play music with all my friends.”
Check out Richard’s tweets below regarding festival politics and his open invite for people to join his set:
Anyone who is blocked from playing HARD summer this year and still wants to play come & jump on my set. Everyone is welcome !!! No bullshit
— Captain D (@DestructoHARD) April 25, 2017
@hi_mija The politix of dancing.Just so everyone knows I never block artists from playing shows. Take a guess who does that? Just come & b2b with me.
— Captain D (@DestructoHARD) April 25, 2017
