Ultra’s exclusivity contract loses Swedish House Mafia

If you are one of the thousands of fans who were looking forward to seeing Swedish House Mafia (SHM) perform at this year’s Ultra Music Festival (UMF), then you are in for a major disappointment. For those of you who haven’t heard yet, SHM will not be attending Ultra this year because of UMF’s exclusivity contract. This contract states that any artist who performs at Ultra cannot perform anywhere else in Miami during the entire weekend. Ultra’s selfish and monopolistic contract has definitely bit them in the butt because little did they know they would lose one of the most popular performers in their 2011 lineup.

When SHM fans heard this news, it created such a stir that the Winter Music Conference extended their one-week convention so that all DJs performing at Ultra could perform at local clubs TWO weeks prior to Ultra instead of just one. However, this was not enough of an incentive to have some artists, such as SHM, sign. Instead, Swedish House Mafia decided to come back to Miami during UMF for an encore performance of the Miami Masquerade Ball, which they debuted in October. The “One Night Stand at Masquerade Motel” consists of a custom made arena, a state of the art light show, and an incredible lineup of specials guests joining them this time who have also declined Ultra’s contract. SHM took a bold risk to compete with UMF, but thanks to loyal SHM fans, that turned out to be a wise decision.

As of right now, both UMF and SHM are both entirely sold out. Due to Ultra’s exclusivity contract, a lot of talent has been lost from this year’s music festival. It’s a shame that many fans had to decide on selling their Saturday Ultra ticket to attend SHM’s Masquerade or missing out on a 10-hour SHM extravaganza. Hopefully Ultra will change their contract for next year’s festival to unite ALL fans and ALL performers at Bicentennial Park for an entire weekend of music madness!

Sari Libbin is a sophomore majoring in psychology and public relations. She may be contacted at slibbin@themiamihurricane.com.