To draw crowds, a prominent festival depends on its atmosphere, concert executives say.
And many concert executives said they expect that this year, like the last, will be good for big tours and big festivals.
But, as All Points West organizers and many other concert executives say, a good lineup alone does not guarantee success in New York.
Concert executives estimate that Desert Trip, which is put on by Mr. Tollett's company, Goldenvoice, a division of the global entertainment company AEG Live, could cost $100 million to stage, including what representatives of several of the acts said were extraordinary paydays for the performers.
Scher recounts going to meet with a Clear Channel concerts executive, Donald Law, to discuss the dispute.
That song, "What More Can I Give?," will now be edited out of the concert, ABC executives said.
"There really hasn't been a national memorial service," Jerry Colbert, the concert's executive producer, said in an interview.
The following June, at the station's annual Summer Jam concert, Hot 97 executives forbade Nas, the intended headliner, to bring a Jay-Z effigy onstage, where he planned to conduct a mock lynching on a twelve-foot gallows.
Lavery's attorney, Steven Kimelman, says that his client does not recall his rationale for the decision, but argues that on this matter, as on others, he acted in concert with other executives, including LiCari.
Four rock groups were sent on tour, competing to see which one could sell the most merchandise; the winner would get a hundred thousand dollars' worth of new equipment, fifty thousand dollars in cash, a VH1-financed video, and a showcase concert with industry executives.
Because of their concert draw, major executives at Sire began to see the band as a potential hit.
