Hasan Raheem serves legal notice to Lahore Musik Fest over 'non-payment', organisers snub claims

Singer alleges festival organisers 'breached contract' and used his team's goodwill to 'take advantage' of his fans.

Singer Hasan Raheem issued a legal notice to the organisers of Lahore Musik Fest for alleged breach of contract, failure to pay in advance on time and using his “goodwill” to “take advantage of fans.” It all started when the festival – slated to be held on Friday at Lahore’s Kingswood Gardens – postponed last minute citing a “heat wave”.

Hours before kicking off, the festival’s organisers announced on Instagram: “The temperature is touching the sky and we do not want to make this concert any less fun for you guys. We will be announcing the new date very soon; stay tuned and don't worry your tickets are still valid." Following this, Raheem revealed that he will not be performing at the rescheduled event citing a breach of contract.

Taking to his Instagram Stories the same day, the Joona hitmaker regretfully announced that while he was supposed to headline the Musik Fest in Lahore, the event organiser “failed to fulfil payment obligations” and took advantage of his team’s lenient behaviour. “My team is always lenient with the organisers, especially the new ones who are just starting out. They [Musik Fest] made multiple promises but ultimately failed to deliver and used an arbitrary excuse to 'postpone' this event. We're holding these organisers accountable by taking legal action for their fraudulent behaviour and using our goodwill to take advantage of our fans," he wrote.

The Peechay Hutt crooner informed those who had bought early tickets, that they can request for a refund on Ticketwala and urged those who were facing difficulty due to a physical purchase, to use "reputable online platforms to safely purchase tickets" in the future, so as to avoid situations like these.

Raheem sends legal notice

Raheem then attached copies of the legal notice he issued to the organisers. "The present notice is being issued regarding agreement dated April 26, 2022 executed between Musik Fest and my client [Raheem]. I state that the Agreement was signed by you as organiser of the event, whereby my client was required to make a musical performance on May 13, 2022," reads the notice.

It goes on to state that the organiser had intentionally breached the agreement due to non-payment of the amount due and has now “cancelled” the event. The notice informs that the organisers had promised 50% payment at the time of signing the contract with Raheem, and the remainder, a day before the event.

It claims that the organisers "demonstrated" their inability to make the 50% payment and requested an extension. In clause three, the legal notice reads, "Multiple requests were made by you in this regard to my client's manager Zayan Abedeen. However, as per your own undertaking, you had assured to make payment of the initial 50% deposit on or before May 10. I categorically state that this was without prejudice to the fact that the remaining 50% was due on May 12. No concession in this regard was extended by my client."

The notice maintains that as the date of the event neared, the organiser began “making excuses” to seek further time. "Being left with no other way to escape your liability and obligations, you provided a false pretext that the event was being rescheduled," it reads. It also points out that nowhere does the contract states that a postponement or rescheduling of the event does can exempt one from paying someone on time.

It also mentions that when called to make the payment, the organiser claimed that the event had been cancelled and therefore, they are not liable to pay the artist. Raheem also claims to have evidence proving the organiser's "unequivocal and unconditional acknowledgment" of their liability.

Provided he wasn't paid in advance initially, nor on May 12 as decided, the notice goes on to state that he can seek full payment from the organisers. "My client reserves his right to initiate appropriate proceedings against you including (but not limited to) prosecution for criminal breach of trust, rendition of accounts to ascertain the profits made by you and recovery amount etc," adds the legal document.

The notice concludes with the demand that the organisers make the full payment of the agreed upon amount within three days of the receipt of the notice.

Organisers vow refunds, snub allegations

Following Raheem’s public announcement of the legal notice extended, organisers of Lahore Musik Fest shared on their own Instagram Stories, “As a responsible and ethical entity, we assure all of you that our intentions are clear. We have taken different NGOs on board and thereby, a major chunk of our event’s profits will be directed towards the goodwill of society.” They went on, “If any of you still hasn’t got their refund, please contact us immediately. We will be processing your claim towards payment after verification.”

Without naming Raheem, they shared their acknowledgement of “social media posts that have been spiraling,” to clarify, “First of all, Musik Fest is not cancelled. It is postponed due to harsh weather conditions. As organisers of Music Fest, we aim to keep the interests of our valuable customers at the forefront and hence, we are making sure all of them get a refund promptly.”

It is pertinent to mention here that the organisers are yet to acknowledge any alleged breach of contract or non and untimely payment owed to the artist. They have not yet publicly responded to other claims of foul play made by Raheem either.

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