Lollapalooza one of many festivals with exclusivity clauses
Below is how these exclusivity clauses compare for four leading festivals: Lollapalooza, Pitchfork in Union Park, Coachella in California and Bonnaroo in Tennessee. They show that Lollapalooza’s exclusivity clauses for its massive lakefront festival Aug. 6-8 are comparable to its two biggest peers, Coachella (which takes place in April) and Bonnaroo (June). Pitchfork, a smaller Chicago festival with a smaller budget, is more lenient in allowing its bands to play nearby shows, but still restricts Chicago performances two months before and after its mid-July dates.
Similarly, most street festivals in Chicago also have exclusivity clauses restricting bands from playing local clubs during the summer. In my earlier post on the Madigan investigation, Schubas and Lincoln Hall talent buyer Matt Rucins said that street festivals were cutting into club bookings as much as Lollapalooza. Though Lollapalooza is a big target because it signs more than 100 bands and artists to the exclusivity clauses, its promoters are hardly the only ones whose policies are cutting into club business. Will the Madigan investigation look into all Illinois festivals on exclusivity clauses? At this moment, her office isn’t saying.
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