Asim Azhar, Hasan Raheem vow legal action against Summer Jam Colour Fest for ‘fraud’, organisers call allegations false

Singers Asim Azhar and Hasan Raheem have said they plan on taking legal action against the Summer Jam Colour Festival, a music festival that they say used the artists’ names to scam people. The concert organisers have refuted these claims and say the allegations are false.

On Sunday, Azhar penned a lengthy note labelled “Fraud Alert” on his Instagram story and explained why he couldn’t perform to his fans. “Summer Jam Colour Fest is a scam and the organisers are frauds. Please get your refunds on all tickets and sponsorships. And PLEASE BEWARE OF ANY FUTURE EVENTS BY THEM. Due to nonpayment, fraud and [lack of commitment] from the organisers, we won’t be performing tonight in Islamabad,” he wrote.

The ‘Habibi’ singer said he and his management will be will be taking legal action against the organisers. He claimed that they fooled fans into buying tickets and got sponsors by using their names but refused to compensate the musicians for their work.

Azhar encouraged everyone to get refunds and said the people responsible for this fraud must face consequences. “Regardless of everything, me and my team are sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to see us perform. Hope we make it up to you next time,” he added.

The ‘Ghalat Fehmi’ singer told Images his number one priority is for the fans to get their money back, for it to be refunded after which he will consider the damages he has incurred.

Raheem also shared an Instagram story the same night and his side of the story seemed to match the ‘Jo Tu Na Mila’ singer’s. “Really sad about the whole situation. I apologise to all [the] people who came out to have a good time tonight. We weren’t paid by the organisers on time,” he explained. “Kindly get refunds from Sumer Jam Colour Fest. We’ll be taking legal action against them for wasting everyone’s time and money. And love all of you who came out tonight.”

What the organisers had to say

In an official statement provided to Images, the organisers of the Summer Jam Colour Fest refuted the “false allegations” levelled against them. “We have been in this industry for the past five years and have organised the biggest shows in Islamabad and Lahore with the same artists and others. This was our fifth event with the artist and we have consistently fulfilled our commitment with him in every event. The disregard of past work and relation with the organisers expressed by the artist/artist manager is particularly disappointing.”

They wanted to clear up what exactly happened in terms of finances. “Majority of the artist payments were made to the third party dealing with it. Hence, the allegations of nonpayment are absolutely false. Should the organisers also demand refund of the amount that was already paid to the artists?” the organisers asked.

They also contradicted the sponsorship claim, saying, “There were no sponsors on board in this event and this allegation is absolutely baseless that any sponsorship was acquired in the name of artist.”

The organisers also talked about an arrangement that was made backstage. “For the little amount that was left, the artists agreed on being paid in cheque backstage that could be cashed the next morning. Despite this agreement, when the senior management left the backstage to get the cheque, the artists’ managers got on to the stage and made an announcement of not performing.”

They referred to the artists who did perform at the concert — Uzair Jaswal, Abdul Hannan, Shamoon Ismail and Raamis, among others — as proof of their commitment. “We consider the use of term ‘fraud’ as defamatory and unfounded. We had every intent to pay the artist and it was communicated to the managers as well. All the other artists that performed are a proof that we standby our commitment. When the event was postponed due to weather conditions in July, every single person was refunded because we keep the best interest of our audience at heart. All these things are a proof of our credibility.”

The organisers concluded with the hopes that there will be more understanding to bridge the gap in public events due to the pandemic. They apologised to the audience and stakeholders for the inconvenience caused.