Putting black and trans women on stage no longer hides the ‘slavery’ practiced behind the scenes of a festival that will leave its tenth edition without any merit
dragon it was the drop that made the dung bowl overflow. When she canceled her show for unexplained reasons (talking about financial greed beyond the bounds of the contract), she reluctantly wrote or had a note written. Translating the few lines that say the rapper would not have technicians to come to Brazil “due to unforeseen circumstances“and without any dignified regret for the Brazilian fans who supported most of his career, what he said was something like: “Don’t bother me, I woke up not wanting to go to Brazil, I’d rather spend the weekend with my wife.”
Drake did him a favor with his humbling nonchalance and exposed the behind the scenes of virality practiced by international music festivals in the country. A virality that is at the heart of the operation of a millionaire recipe which consists of offering benefits and relaxing fines for breaches of contract to international artists (after all, they are the ones who will attract sponsors and the widest range of ticket buyers) at the same time which blatantly flattens the share of Brazilians who pay much lower amounts than other national festivals would pay. Using the ‘status’ of being there to change lives and consecrate careers, they even offer 14,000 BRL to a group costing 310,000 BRL on the market. A source heard from the report speaks of values ”10 or even 15 times lower than those paid by other festivals”.
Internal abuses reported by other sources, such as the prices charged by companies that handle the festival’s contracted shredded paper cannons (those cannons that Coldplay love). Because the same company that would charge R$5,000 for two shots fired during a concert in a private home in São Paulo would charge R$30,000 for the same two shots fired within the festival. In other words: there are Brazilian artists who are worth less than a scrap of paper. This emotional manipulation of the national artist, who will never complain about not “burning” with the few concert players in the country, is very open. Unlike many internationals, who agree to come to Brazil after negotiating higher prices, the nationals dream of being there, if only for bread and mortadella.
The fan silently accepted his riding without noticing the wheel spinning on his loin. When a name like Drake is announced, he posts, puts festival branding into trends, uses it to buy tickets that sell out in seconds, and validates, in advance, the event’s ‘success’ – a perfect strategy for the festival operator to attract more sponsors. In addition to the insurance policies stipulated by international artists which guaranteed the payment of contractual breaches, some compensation practices had eased during Covid, when no one wanted to know about playing in the country of the then negationist president and returning home contaminated. Therefore, it was much easier to send bananas to Brazil a few hours before the show. With no risk of retaliation from ultra-engaged fans on social media, but fragile, immature, and demobilized by class action lawsuits, you know, none of those responsible for serial deletions fear even a blemish on their resume. He swaps the rapper for the DJ and never talk about it again. The wheel has already been turned. The money has already arrived.
Something could change. In addition to reports of confirmed slave labor practice within Interlagos, lack of credibility, allegations of national flat rates and differential treatment can make any festival a bad place for a spotless and heavy-handed sponsor it wants to be. There is no use putting women of color and trans people on stage to cover up slavery behind the scenes. By the way, it’s time for the artist who defends equals to say no too. That is, if equalities are more important than your career, of course.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
