KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Malaysian live music industry players are confident that it's “business as usual” despite the lawsuit by organisers of the Good Vibes Festival (GVF) against English pop rock band The 1975.
Following frontman Matty Healy's provocative on-stage antics at the Good Vibes Festival (GVF) which in the three-day festival cut short, organiser Future Sound Asia (FSA) were reported to have filed a £1.9 million (RM11.26 million) lawsuit against them at the UK High Court.
Concert organiser Hitman Solutions founder Rohit Rampal told Malay Mail that despite the hefty lawsuit, it's “business as usual” for concert organisers in Malaysia.
He said that he could only see a positive outcome for GVF as they may finally be compensated for their losses after the festival's premature end, and that The 1975 would have to deal with the bad reputation they deserve for the fiasco.
Rohit said he doubted that the lawsuit would scare off international artists from coming here to perform.
“I doubt that it will scare off (international artists), but promoters and artist managements need to be more prudent and careful when confirming shows in KL, taking note of our basic guidelines and national interests.
“It’s a good reference point when advancing a show.”
Hitman Solutions is set to bring in English metal band Bring Me the Horizon along with famous Japanese girl metal group BabyMetal for the Bring Me The Horizon Live Featuring Babymetal at the Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon on August 21.
Concert promoter and talent booking agency RK Live director Rahul Kukreja meanwhile said that The 1975 was an isolated case, and the lawsuit didn’t have an effect on the live music industry as a whole.
“To be fair, I doubt they will have any more business to do in South East Asia or rather Asia.
“I don't think anyone's really going to bring them back or want to invest into producing any of their shows here at least.
“And whatever that’s been said and done, I don't think it will scare anyone off (from coming to perform in Malaysia),” he said.
Rahul pointed out that the current live music landscape in Asia is as strong as ever and there is still much potential for growth, and it would be a shame to not tap into it.
“Now what is holding back the Malaysian live event industry, I think, is just the government.
“As you see in our neighbouring countries in Indonesia, Thailand and now especially in Singapore, music tourism is a key driving factor for the economy.
“It's a very frustrating position to be in for someone who has been doing this for many years, and we’ve proven the potential of how much value music tourism can bring to an economy,” he said.
Healy’s expletive-riddled tirade against Malaysia’s anti-LGBT laws, followed by an onstage kiss with bassist Ross MacDonald during The 1975 set at GVF 2023 led to the event being shut down by the end of the first day of the three-day festival.
Court documents filed by organisers FSA in the UK High Court claim that The 1975 and their management were aware of the numerous prohibitions the band had to abide by in order to perform.
They pointed out the band had previously performed at the festival in 2016 and were and reminded multiple times again ahead of the controversial performance in July last year.
In August last year, Malay Mail reported that FSA had served a seven-day notice to The 1975 to admit their liability and pay the sum of £2,099,154.54 (RM12,347,967.91) over the controversy at the 10th anniversary of the GVF.
The band have not yet filed a defence to the lawsuit. Variety also reported that a rep for the 1975 declined to comment.
