Paul Tollett—the founder of concert promotion company Goldenvoice and co-founder of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival—has spoken to the Los Angeles Times’s Steve Appleford in a rare, extensive interview about Kanye West, the festival’s sexual harassment issue, AEG’s Philip Anschutz, the radius clause, and more. Tollett began with the circumstances behind Justin Timberlake and Kanye West’s abrupt exit from the recently announced 2019 lineup shortly before its public reveal. (It was reported that Ariana Grande and Tame Impala replaced them as headlining acts). According to Tollett, Timberlake had to drop out due to bruised vocal cords, while Kanye left due to conflicts with stage design.
“He has some great [production] ideas, but we just weren’t able to pull them off right now,” Tollett said about Kanye. “I’d like to circle back with him and figure out a future plan of what to do with what’s in his head…Up until Jan. 1, we were making a poster with Kanye on it. We started realizing we’re probably going to have an impasse production-wise.” According to Billboard, Kanye asked Tollett to construct a custom-built dome in the middle of the festival grounds, which would be designed by John McGuire.
Later in the interview, Tollett spoke on the purchase of Goldenvoice by the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which brought Coachella controversy due to AEG owner Philip Anshutz’s donations to conservative and anti-LGBTQ organizations. “Most billionaires are Republicans. The billionaire attached to Live Nation is a Republican Trump supporter,” Tollett said, stating that neither he or Anschutz are Trump supporters. “I run the show 365 days a year, making all the decisions. Anyone who knows me and the Goldenvoice staff, they know we have a very colorful public history.” Tollett continued, bringing up Anschutz’s million-dollar donation to the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s LGBT Fund and the festival’s “diverse from the beginning” staff.
Tollett was also asked about FYF Fest creator Sean Carlson, who was accused of sexual assault and misconduct in 2017. “There were allegations brought to light, and we felt they were credible enough for us to distance ourselves with him.” Goldenvoice partnered with FYF in 2011. Though the company’s executive committee voted to give “the festival back” to Carlson following their parting, Carlson handed the festival over to Goldenvoice, who now have full ownership of the event.
Tollett then talked about Coachella’s controversial radius clause, which restricts where its acts can perform before and after the festival. Last year, Portland, Oregon’s Soul’d Out Music Festival filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Coachella, Goldenvoice, and AEG over the clause. “If you want to play a whole bunch of shows in town, I’m not mad at you. I just don’t have to put you on the [festival],” Tollett said. “I want something unique and fresh for a 100-day window.”
When Appleford brought up the criticism Coachella has faced for not including enough female headliners, Tollett said he agreed and made an effort to change the discrimination “systemic in the industry”: “Everyone needs to do better.” Tollett then discussed Coachella’s new initiative to combat sexual harassment and assault, Every One, which was a response to last year’s report of widespread sexual misconduct at the event.
Tollett also talked about Beyoncé’s “Beychella” performance, reuniting Guns N’ Roses for Coachella 2016, and the twenty year anniversary of the festival. Read the full interview at the Los Angeles Times.
Read “6 Takeaways from the 2019 Coachella Lineup” on the Pitch.
