New details about the controversial Coachella Radius Clause have come to the surface. Previously, the Oregon music festival Soul’d Out had filed a suit days before Weekend 1 of 2018 Coachella arguing that they tried to book Tank and the Bangas, SZA, and Daniel Caesar who happened to also be performing at Coachella, but were turned down because of their radius clause. The festivals were merely a week apart, violating what we now knew about the clause.
Now, after an amended civil complaint was filed by Soul’d Out promoters, a legal email was sent between lawyers on May 15 detailing unreleased provisions of Coachella’s radius clause. As stated in the email, the following bullet points are the entirety of the current radius clause in the artist contracts.
Artist shall not perform:
- On any North American Festival from December 15, 2017, until May 1, 2018.
- In Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura or San Diego Counties from December 15, 2017 until May 1, 2018.
Artist shall not advertise, publicize or leak*:
- Any performance in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura or San Diego Counties from the date of this offer until May 7, 2018
- Any Festival** or Themed Event*** in the states of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington or Arizona from December 15, 2017, until May 7, 2018
- Any Festival** or Themed Event*** in the US (not included in B above) until after the Coachella announcement (this does not apply to SXSW in Austin, Ultra in Miami or Jazzfest)
- Any tour dates in the states of California, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon until January 10, 2018, or when the festival is announced, whichever is sooner
- Casino dates in Las Vegas are approved, festivals are prohibited
AEG Presents‘ attorney is Casey Nokes, who strongly argues against the claims Soul’d Out founders Nicholas Harris and Haytham Abdulhadi have made. He argues that “radius clauses are enforceable and legal if they are limited in time and scope and are considered reasonable and says Soul’d Out’s ‘true gripe with the radius clause is that it prevents (Soul’d Out) from free-riding on the popularity of Coachella and the investment AEG has made in developing its artist lineup'” and “any other festival has been unable to enter the market or expand as a result of the radius clause. Nor are there any facts showing any reduction in quality across music festivals.”
The suit has not settled yet and both sides are fighting to win this suit. Stay tuned for more details.