Soul’d Out Festival’s Lawsuit Against Coachella Has Been Dismissed

This week, a judge ruled that the Portland festival did not incur antitrust injury from Coachella's radius clause.

Erykah Badu performing at the Schnitz as part of the 2018 Soul'd Out Music Festival. IMAGE: Abby Gordon.
By Shannon Gormley

Soul'd Out Festival's legal battle against Coachella and the California festival's so-called "radius clause" seems to have come to an end.

Last spring, Soul'd Out filed a lawsuit against a clause in Coachella's contracts that prevents artists from performing at other festivals within a 1,300-mile radius during the five months leading up to the event. Coachella takes place in Indio, Calif., during the second and third weeks of April, which overlaps with Soul'd Out's city-wide schedule. Soul'd Out's suit claimed that Coachella's practices violate antitrust laws.

According to festival founders Nicholas Harris and Haytham Abdulhadi, SZA and Tank and the Bangas were unable to play Soul'd Out last year due to Coachella's radius clause.

"It is remarkable that Coachella thinks it is reasonable to exert its market power over 1,000 miles away, to harm a much smaller, regional music event," Soul'd Out's attorney Nika Aldrich told WW last year. "We look forward to having a Portland jury hear Soul'd Out's complaint."

This week, an Oregon District Court Judge dismissed the Portland-based festival's lawsuit against Coachella's affiliate companies Goldenvoice and AEG Presents, Billboard first reported.

Judge Mosman first dismissed the case last October on the grounds that he disagreed with the suit's definition of a relevant market, but allowed the plaintiffs to refile. This week, Mosman ruled that there was no antitrust injury the suit was permanently dismissed, though Soul'd Out has 30 days to appeal the ruling.

"The entire purpose of the radius clause is to protect AEG from competitors unfairly free-riding on its creative choices in selecting its artist lineup," Coachella's lawyers wrote in a court filing. "As more festivals proliferate, maintaining a unique festival lineup is crucial for Coachella to remain competitive."

Soul'd Out did not respond to WW's request for comment.

Related: The Lineup for This Year's Soul'd Out Festival is Here.

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