In April 2018, Coachella organizers Goldenvoice were hit with a lawsuit that alleged the restrictive radius clause for the festival was in violation of anti-trust law. Oregon-based promoter Soul’d Out Productions claimed that the Coachella contract—which legally forbids artists from playing any other North American festival from December 15 to May 1—hurt their annual Soul’d Out Music Festival. Now, the presiding judge in the case has permanently dismissed the lawsuit, as Billboard reports.
In the original lawsuit, Soul’d Out organizers claimed that artists including SZA and Daniel Caesar have had to turn down their festival due to the clause. In a rebuttal, Coachella organizers said they would “vigorously defend against this lawsuit, which calls into question a long-standing industry practice that is crucial to our ability to continue offering fans the unrivaled experience for which Coachella has become known.” In October 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman dismissed the lawsuit but allowed for the claims to be refiled with technical tweaks. Mosman has now determined that no anti-trust injury was made against Soul’d Out by Goldenvoice as a result of the radius clause.
Read “Coachella’s Controversial Radius Clause Actually Isn’t That Hard to Get Around” on the Pitch.
https://pitchfork.com/news/coachella-radius-clause-lawsuit-dismissed
