It has become clear that this year’s festival season is being pushed back to the fall. It’s no longer shocking when we hear that another festival is being postponed or cancelled altogether. However, what is surprising (and quite infuriating) is that some festivals, such as Ultra Music Festival, are not offering refunds to their customers.
On March 13, the DoLab, founders of the Southern California music festival Lightning in a Bottle, announced that the event would sadly be cancelled due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus. In their initial announcement, they stated that they would not be issuing refunds. Understandably, fans were not happy, and the company received major backlash. They have even been faced with a lawsuit that is putting their festival and reputation in jeopardy.
In their latest email, the DoLab offers more transparency to the community. Little did fans know that the small, family-run business had already used up the majority of their revenue on production costs and was not financially able to make those refunds (unlike bigger production companies like Insomniac). However, in the past month, they have been working to make things right by coming up with more options for ticket holders. Ticket buyers can now choose to: become an LIB supporter and gift the price of the ticket in exchange for a VIP upgrade for LIB 2021, transfer their GA ticket to LIB 2021 or a VIP upgrade for 2022, or join the refund pool to receive their money back as soon the DoLab is financially able to do so.
Fans have responded very positively to hearing this update. With clear communication, they are now able to sympathize with the DoLab’s situation rather than be upset about not getting money back right away. In fact, many have stood in solidarity with them by choosing options #1 or #2. If you were planning to go to Lightning in a Bottle this year and are in a position to do the same, it can make the difference to support this small business that has created magical memories for so many of us. We can only hope that LIB 2021 will be even more epic than ever.
If you have any more questions, you can contact the DoLab at questions2020@lightninginabottle.org.
*Featured image from Lightning in a Bottle.
