Fees for bringing international artists to Brazil usually include all costs of the show, plus flight and hotel for the team, rather than just paying the artist to present and making them responsible for the additional costs (staff and accommodation), for example ).
It’s common for artists not to pay a fine in the event of cancellation as there are clauses in the contracts that act as a sort of ‘hook’ allowing cancellation in the event of ‘force majeure’ which can encompass many types of situations.
One of the world’s largest event producers even considered finening artists twice the contract value if they canceled, but the proposal went “bad” and never went ahead.
1 of 1 Drake, Lady Gaga, Blink182 and Justin Bieber left fans in Brazil devastated — Photo: Reproduction/Instagram Rich Fury/Getty Images via AFP/Agnews/Matthew EmmonsUSA TODAY Sports Drake, Lady Gaga, Blink 182 and Justin Bieber have devastated fans in Brazil with cancellations — Photo: Reproduction/Instagram Rich Fury/Getty Images via AFP/Agnews/Matthew EmmonsUSA TODAY Sports
Lollapalooza 2023 was overshadowed by cancellations. Of the three main attractions in the original lineup, two pulled out: Blink182 a month earlier due to a drummer’s broken finger, and Drake on the day of the show due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
O g1 Concert market professionals listened to cancellations of performances at major festivals: What are the contracts and why are gringos canceling them?
Understand from the following points:
How is the fee negotiated?
All fees with foreign attractions are negotiated in dollars. Values are usually calculated in two possible ways:
This is most common at the major music festivals in Latin America cached. The festival usually only grants two to three overnight stays in hotels and local transport (between the airport, hotel and venue).
Artists try to book as many dates as possible in neighboring countries or in other cities in Brazil. Instead of just doing one show with intercontinental travel, which is more expensive, he makes several smaller trips and earns a fixed fee for each. This dilutes the overall spend and makes the tour profitable.
What happens if the artist cancels?
Agreements typically provide for additional penalties of 100% of the order value in the event of cancellation. In practice, however, this does not usually happen. Gringo artists who cancel only need to refund the fee already paid.
This happens because the contracts contain clauses known in the market as “force majeure” that nullify the fine in the following cases:
- Artist’s disease, duly proven.
- Weather changes, public disasters or other hypotheses beyond the control of the contractor that make the presentation impossible.
In practice, the “unwanted hypothesis that makes presentation impossible” can be almost anything.. “Nothing beats a fine. Give the money back and you’re done. And there’s always a reason, no matter how much you don’t open it on the nets. You always have to demand something,” says the agent of a major festival in Brazil.
“There are some ‘force majeure’ pranks that people use to blend in,” says a Brazilian artist who plays major festivals both nationally and internationally.
If the artist has already invested part of their budget in the performance of the show, this amount can be deducted from the budget to be returned.
Example: An artist cancels at the last minute, but their megascreen came first and was installed on stage. The contract may provide that the amount deposited is what you have already received minus the amount you have spent on this screen.
Is the problem only in Brazil?
The topic is not only discussed here. In 2020, Live Nation, one of the world’s largest event producers, sought to tighten global rules and fine artists twice the contract value in the event of cancellation.
The magazine “Billboard” reported on this change attempt. In it, a producer from festivals in the US said that artists currently have no practical consequences for canceling a show at a festival, even if that shortterm absence hurts the event’s brand.
“But if I have to cancel my festival for whatever reason, I have to pay the artists everything, even if they don’t help me sell a single ticket, and that’s not fair,” the producer said.
Still, Live Nation’s proposal, which included other stricter clauses for artists in the midst of the pandemic crisis, went awry. A week later, specialist site Complete Music Update reported that Live Nation had given up enforcing these new rules.
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