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IsToolbeing a bunch of tools?
Part of their fan base seems to think so.
(Social-mediafootageshowed people booing and hurling expletives at Maynard James Keenan & Co. during the second night.)
Now, one disappointed attorney who was present at the festival is initiating a class-action lawsuit.
I expect a few dozen more per day for the next few weeks, he adds.
Peter Nicolas, an endowed chair-in-law at the University of Washington, is at a bit of a loss.
It may not necessarily be a legal problem, even though theyre being threatened with a lawsuit.
But its definitely a public-relations problem.
Its the key in of thing no band wants.
As an artist, you dont want fans threatening to sue you.
The fans are obviously mad and perhaps have a basis to be mad.
With social media, youre able to quickly rack up signatures for stuff like this.
Its low-stakes to sign up.
The lawsuit hinges on the fact that fans were promised two unique set lists at the festival.
There might be a little bit of playing fast and loose with lingo and the word unique.
There are two different ways one can interpret that word.
What if it was, Each night well play one single and unique song?
Listen, Im not a Tool fan myself.
I dont know which of those songs are their go-to songs.
Can I do a personal comparison?
Im sure there are people reading this who are unfamiliar with Tools discography.Im a big Cher fan.
Theres certain things where its like: Is the song iconic?
Is it associated with the deep cuts?
Are four repeat songs excessive in a set of nine or ten songs?
But Im unsure if theres a strong claim on false advertising.
Does the high price of the festival factor into this at all?
Heres the thing: Everybody is going to see the same music.
And thats because what a disinterested lawyer would do is bring in that objectivity.
He, as a fan, is naturally upset.
I dont discount that.
But a disinterested lawyer would tell him, Look, its probably not a strong case.
What that means, though, is it makes it worse for Tool.
Hes already caused them trouble simply from the negative publicity.
My gut tells me that this isnt going to go very far in terms of a court suit.
That doesnt mean it wont influence things.
Tool has yet to comment about anything related to the case.
You dont want them to say something that might make the lawsuit even worse.
As a business and any band is ultimately a business theyve got a public-relations problem.
And Id voluntarily rebate a portion of the ticket prices.
Again, not because theyre legally obligated to.
Its just a good gesture.
I suspect something like that might happen.
Maybe itll be negotiated with this particular lawyer, or maybe the band will decide to do it.
I suspect there will be a brief negotiation to get this lawsuit not to happen.
You dont want this.
Artists should be sued for copyright infringement.
They shouldnt be sued by their fans.
We dont want to create a potential liability.
Some things are beyond the control of the artist.
But this is something that can be controlled.
