Hasan Raheem sends notice to Lahore's Musik Fest organisers for not paying advance fees

Singer Hasan Raheem has said that he has issued a legal notice to the organisers of a concert in Lahore called Musik Fest for not paying him on time. The concert was scheduled to be held on Friday, May 13, but was postponed.

Musik Fest said the concert was postponed due to the heatwave. In a post on Instagram a few hours before the concert was scheduled to be held, the organisers wrote, "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 & don't worry your tickets are still valid."

Musik Fest responds

The organisers of Musik Fest told Images that the event had been postponed due to the heatwave. "Refunds from every ticket source are also in order. Assuming and posting cancellation news about our event and a fraud event leads to online defamation, harassment, mental torture, damages and more others," they said. "But still we are expecting [a] good response from their side and we want to end this on better notes as it may be a misunderstanding from their side."

The organisers said that according to the allegations made by Raheem's team, there was no financial gain for the organisers as the postponement "is only because of natural factors that are beyond our control". "Although we are facing a huge financial loss due to this postponement but to maintain public trust is our first priority and we are making sure that anyone who wants to get a refund is obliged and get their refund back," they said.

Hasan Raheem speaks out

Raheem has refused to perform at the rescheduled concert and said the organisers breached his contract. The 'Joona' singer took to Instagram stories on May 13 and wrote that he was supposed to perform at Musik Fest in Lahore but unfortunately the event organiser "failed to fulfil payment obligations". He claimed that the team took advantage of them giving them a grace period to pay the initial fee before the event.

"My team is always lenient with the organisers specially 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.

Raheem in his Instagram stories also suggested that his fans and followers who bought the tickets through Ticketwala can apply for their refunds and "urged" his fans to use "reputable online platforms to safely purchase tickets" and that they shouldn't buy physical tickets to avoid situations like this.

Raheem attached copies of the legal notice he issued the organiser of the event that was meant to take place at Kingswood Gardens in Lahore.

"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," read the notice. It said that the organiser had intentionally breached the agreement due to non-payment of the amount due and has now cancelled the event.

The notice pointed out that the agreement had included Raheem being 50 per cent of the total fee at the time of signing the contract and the remainder one day before the event. It said that the organisers had "demonstrated" their inability to make the 50 per cent payment deposit and had requested an extension. In clause three, the legal notice read, "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 per cent deposit on or before May 10. I categorically state that this was without prejudice to the fact that the remaining 50 per cent was due on May 12. No concession in this regard was extended by my client."

The notice read that as the date neared, the organiser started to make excuses and sought further time, referring to the conversation the team had with Raheem's manager. "Being left with no other way to escape your liability and obligations, you provided a false pretext that the event was being rescheduled," it read.

In the second photo attached by Raheem, the notice states that postponement or rescheduling the event does not exempt one from paying someone on time. It also read that when called for the payment, the organiser confirmed that the event had been cancelled and therefore they are not liable to pay the artist.

Raheem has evidence proving the organiser's "unequivocal and unconditional acknowledgment" of their liability, according to the notice. Due to the fact that he wasn't paid initially and the contract breach, this enables the 'Peechay Hutt' singer to seek full payment, according to his notice.

Raheem's notice argued that it had been 'apparent" that the organisers had no intention of honouring the agreement and that they have utilised the singer's name and goodwill for their own "personal and financial" gain. "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," read the legal document.

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