On June 17, Woodstock 50 formally filed a lawsuit against the festival’s would-have-been financier—Japanese advertising firm Dentsu. Woodstock claims that Dentsu sabotaged the renowned festival’s 50th anniversary celebration by breaching a contractual agreement to fund the event. Seeking tens of millions of dollars in compensation, the lawsuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court, states,
“Dentsu and Amplifi made the cold-blooded decision to exit their investment having nothing to do with any alleged breaches by Woodstock 50, but rather to avoid the potential that the festival would not make money or not be as successful as they hoped.”
This lawsuit comes a year after complications regarding the execution of the event, which ultimately ended in the event’s foundering cancellation. Following internal disagreements about capacity and event permits from local government, Amplifi sent prospective attendees an official cancellation notice on April 29, 2019. Woodstock 50 immediately took matters to court, where the judge agreed that Amplifi did not have autonomy to cancel the festival. However, the judge did not order Dentsu to pay the almost $18 million owed to Woodstock organizers.
Woodstock 50 finally pulled the plug on what was supposed to be their triumphant anniversary festival on July 31, 2019. Conflict between Woodstock 50 and their financiers continued for months, now culminating into this new suit. Stay tuned as the case develops.
