Coachella Radius Clause Dismissal Reversed by U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed last year’s court decision in regard to Coachella’s radius clause. The clause forbids artists set to appear at Coachella from performing at other venues within North America between December 15 to May 1, unless the event is through AEG and Goldenvoice. 

Soul’d Out Productions brought a case against Goldenvoice, the company which owns Coachella, because artists performing at the music festival have had to turn down opportunities to perform at Soul’d Out’s festival in Oregon due to the radius clause. Soul’d Out argued that because their festival is more than 1,000 miles away from Coachella, artists should have the opportunity to play both shows.

Coachella created their radius clause so they could have exclusivity in regard to their lineup. With artists unable to perform for companies other than Goldenvoice for the three months leading up to the festival and month after, the music festival gains more popularity as it is the only place to see those who are playing.

Last year, Soul’d Out Productions lost their case against Coachella. However they then brought the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, who reversed the case’s initial dismissal. Soul’d Out had claimed artists like SZA and Daniel Caesar had turned down performing at their festival due to the Coachella radius clause, causing Soul’d Out to lose money.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman initially denied Soul’d Out’s claim due to lack of standing because Soul’d Out was not a party within the initial Goldenvoice contract artists sign when agreeing to perform at Coachella. The ruling was reversed because the Ninth Circuit Court determined Soul’d Out Productions had satisfied the initial requirements for their claims and that while they had not been a part of the radius clause contract, they are still affected. Soul’d out now has 14 days to file for a rehearing against Goldenvoice and will be able to move forward with their claims.

As it currently stands, Coachella is scheduled to continue in October with the same lineup that had been scheduled for their original dates in April. Stagecoach will be occurring the week after, with rescheduled dates occurring the last weekend of October.