The Fate of The Woodstock 50 Music Festival is Up in The Air

Quinn: It’s Quinn and Cantara PYX 106. 1-800-LAW-1010. 1800LAW1010.com. Let me try to hit this name correctly, Cantara.

Cantara: Since I’m 0 for 2.

Quinn: Cassandra Kazukenus [SP]

Cantara: Kazakanis. [SP]

Quinn: Kazakanis. I was doing it off the top of my head. I thought I came close.

Cantara: Did we get it, Kazandra?

Cassandra: How about just Kaz?

Quinn: Kaz.

Cantara: Is that what your friends call you?

Cassandra: Well, no. My friends actually call me my maiden name.

Cantara: Okay, all right. All right, Kaz.

Quinn: I’d let my friends call me Kaz.

Cantara: I like calling her Kaz.

Quinn: Kaz esquire.

Cantara: All right, so organizers and the big financier for Woodstock 50 are battling it in court. Day two in court today. The fate of the music festival up in the air after the event investor Dentsu pulled $18 million. So the way I got it, Kaz, is that Michael Lang and the Woodstock crew filed the lawsuit against the financiers and now the financiers are filing a counter lawsuit. Is that right?

Cassandra: Yeah, that’s what it looks like. You know, I wasn’t able to pull all the documents but that’s essentially what’s going on.

Quinn: So who’s gonna get their money, if any, and, you know, thoughts? Is the event even going to happen?

Cassandra: It doesn’t sound like it, right?

Quinn: No.

Cassandra: I mean, there’s allegations that the infrastructure that needed to be in place isn’t in place. There are misrepresentations about the capacity, which would go to ticket sales, as to whether the contracts are enforceable or not. There’s a lot of questions at play here.

Quinn: Yeah, we read Dentsu didn’t even do any due diligence into this.

Cantara: Yeah, but no, no. See, I’m actually backing Dentsu. They’re the people who put up the money. Michael Lang said, “We’re gonna have 150,000 people there.” When Dentsu learned that the venue only holds 75,000, don’t they have a right to…they have a window and a right to pull their investment back, don’t they?

Quinn: Well, yeah, that sounds wrong.

Cassandra: I’m sure the contracts are voluminous and long and I’m sure there are a million ways in and out of it, but it depends on what they can prove, right? If there is misrep, probably have some options. If there’s not a misrepresentation, you know, all that stuff’s going to get sorted out in the court process.

Quinn: Yeah.

Cantara: It just seems odd, though. Like, so a court ruling could say to Dentsu “Nope, you can’t pull your money.” So then they have $18 million on the table and then Woodstock 50 tanks and they lose their money, and because the judge made them lose their money. I feel like Dentsu’s in the right here.

Quinn: And they were told there was gonna be twice as many people there so, yeah, Cantara’s right.

Cantara: So we’ve got to wait another day to figure anything out or do we have to wait even longer?

Cassandra: I think it’s going to take longer than a day.

Cantara: So are we gonna get to see Jay Z or what, Kaz? That’s my question.

Cassandra: Doesn’t it sound like it’s not going to happen, though? Right? Like the artists are starting to talk about “Well, we’re holding it for a little bit longer. Otherwise, we’re gonna start booking other venues.” It just feels…

Quinn: And, what, $18 million, what does their attorney get if they get that money back for them?

Cassandra: More than you can dream of.

Quinn: Yeah, I believe it. Yeah.

Cantara: All right, and then there’s the question of the artists where, like, I assume a retainer to hold the dates. So they have to be paid. Who’s gonna pay them? It’s not gonna be Dentsu if they win. It would have to be Michael Lang and the guys.

Cassandra: Yeah, and you know, that’s where it comes in is Michael Lang has a relationship with Dentsu before. He put on the prior Woodstock. You would think there would have been some forethought in this, considering they’ve done it before…

Quinn: It sounded like…

Cassandra: …and yet this has gone all sideways.

Quinn: It just sounds like everything got screwed up when someone said 150,000, right? I mean just assume, you know, and then all of a sudden you get there and it’s a mess.

Cantara: If you don’t have tickets on sale now, it’s way too late.

Quinn: Yeah, right.

Cassandra: Yeah. I mean, if you’re assuming profits based on $150,000, that changes your investment, right, and the money you put into it and all that.

Quinn: No question. Well, all right. No free love hippie Woodstock this year.

Cantara: Let’s just remember this, though, you two.

Quinn: Yeah?

Cantara: That the original Woodstock had some hiccups, too, and it turned into this great cultural event.

Quinn: That’s kind of the beauty of it. That organic feeling.

Cantara: So maybe we have 2019 hiccups. You know what I mean?

Quinn: Maybe people will just converge anyways.

Cantara: Go, yeah.

Quinn: Just go anyways. All right.

Cassandra: Yeah.

Quinn: All right, well, Kazandra…

Cassandra: It’s a different world, though, isn’t it?

Quinn: It really is a different world. No questions.

Cantara: Kassandra’s in for Paul Harding this morning. 1-800-LAW-1010 and then 1800LAW1010.com. Well, keep an eye on that case, Kazandra. Thanks so much.

Quinn: Thanks, Kaz.

Cassandra: Thank you.

Cantara: See you.