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Event Promoter Ordinance Updates

Event Promoter Ordinance Updates
talks continue, no schedule yet for a vote, factsheets
released by City

Thursday June 5th
Yesterday, Ald. Schulter, his fellow members of the City Council's Licensing and Consumer Protection Committee, and City staff held a meeting with invited members of the Chicago entertainment industry, including CMC, on the proposed event promoter ordinance.

The meeting accomplished two main things. It allowed for the City to clarify what it believes are misunderstandings about the language of the ordinance and its impact on the music community. And it allowed for CMC and other members of the music community to ask questions of City staff and offer their views on the ordinance and remaining questions they have about ordinance language.

The City presented two documents that can be found here (.PDF) and here(.PDF). The first offers the City’s perspective on why the ordinance as drafted is necessary and the second is a FAQ that addresses some common questions the City believes are based on a misunderstanding of the ordinance.

CMC was able to ask a number of questions that we received from you and other members of the music community through our public comment process. One recurring topic we’ve received a lot of questions about is insurance coverage, specifically how small, less capitalized promoters will be able to afford a $300,000 policy if the ordinance becomes law. While no decisions were made today, the City listened and agreed to go back and re-look at the insurance issue.

Another area of concern we’ve heard from you about is exactly who will be required to obtain a license to promote an event under the proposed language. There was a healthy discussion today, but CMC continues to have questions and concerns. We hope the City revisits their definitional language so vital smaller and less established members of the music community can continue to promote Chicago music.

Ald. Schulter made it clear today that “there is no schedule” yet for the ordinance to move from the Licensing Committee to the City Council for a vote. In the meantime, CMC will continue to remain vigilant in advocating the music community’s interests on this very important issue. Stay tuned to this site for additional updates, and please keep sending us your comments.
» Read the City's News Alert (06-04-08) » Download the City's Explanation (.PDF) » Download the City's FAQ (.PDF) » Send Us Your Comments

See original Article

Local Chicago Nightclub Hits a Dry Spell Following Charges of "Passing Off

SANTA MONICA, CA, Apr 30 (MARKET WIRE) -- Red Bull North America, Inc. ("Red Bull") has won another lawsuit as part of its ongoing effort to protect consumers. The court entered judgment against Wet,a Chicago-based nightclub, for deliberately and willfully "passing off" generic energy drinks as Red Bull(R) in violation of federal law. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleged that customers who ordered a Red Bull(R) at Wet routinely received a substitute beverage without being notified of the substitution or given the opportunity to accept or reject the stand-in product.
The judgment includes a permanent injunction against Wet and its employees that prohibits "passing off" other beverages as Red Bull(R), as well as a judgment against the owners and operators of Wet in the amount of $679,827.48 which includes $102,837.48 to reimburse Red Bull for its attorneys' fees and costs.
Wet is the fourth establishment in the past year that Red Bull successfullypursued to stop "passing off." Red Bull obtained permanent injunctions against and settled with Houston-based Tavern for $150,000, Fort Lauderdale-based Dicey Riley's for $75,000 and Orlando-based Roxy Night Club for an undisclosed amount.
"We are very proactive in our attempts to discuss passing-off issues and solutions with bars. Our primary goal is to protect our brand and ensure the customer clearly understands what they are receiving when they order a Red Bull. We only use legal action as a last resort, when it is clear a bar or restaurant cannot effectively adhere to the law," says Chad Peffer, vice president of sales, Red Bull North America. "In the end, it's not an effective practice to sue any of our potential customers, but certain owners put us in a situation that is not good for either party... especially considering the time and effort on our part and the financial settlements on theirs."
When consumers pay for a premium beverage, they have a right to expect thatit will be given to them. Consumers are encouraged to "demand the can" of Red Bull(R) with their drink as proof that they are not being deceived. Thebest way to distinguish Red Bull(R) from alternative products is the packaging. Red Bull(R) is sold exclusively in its unique blue and silver canand is never shot out of a beverage dispenser gun.
"Red Bull pioneered the energy drink category and set the bar for premium cocktails," says Matt Linder, president of Three Headed Productions, owner and operator of several Chicago-based establishments, including LePassage, Salud, Cans, Juniors and Evil Olive. "We only serve high-quality products at our bars and give our consumers exactly what they want. So when a customer orders a Red Bull(R) and Vodka, that's what we give them."
If consumers see passing off taking place, they can visit www.redbullusa.com and select the "contact us" button on the company page, or send an email to consumer.information@us.redbull.com.
MEDIA INFORMATION: Patrice Radden Red Bull Communications (310) 460-5344 patrice.radden@us.redbull.com
Erin Mand Publicis PR (323) 866-6040 erin.mand@publicis-pr.com
Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.
SEE Original ARticle

Shaq Rips Kobe During Nightclub Rap

Just in case anybody had forgotten that Kobe Bryant has never won an NBA title without Shaquille O'Neal, the big man sent out a reminder.
The Phoenix Suns center can be seen rapping that "Kobe couldn't do without me" in a video posted online at celebrity news and gossip site TMZ.com.
During the two-minute video, a grinning O'Neal lurches through an improvised rap in which he skewers the Lakers' star, with whom he won three straight NBA titles from 2000-2002 while with Los Angeles.
"I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever," O'Neal told ESPN.com Monday. "That is what MC's do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all."
O'Neal and Bryant last played together in 2004. The two had a falling out after Bryant was arrested in Colorado and charged with rape. Bryant reportedly told police that O'Neal would pay his women to keep quiet in similar situations. O'Neal was traded to Miami before the 2004-05 season, and won an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006.
Bryant and the Lakers didn't reach the finals again until earlier this month, when the Boston Celtics beat them 4-2.
"You know how I be," Shaq rapped. "Last week Kobe couldn't do without me."
O'Neal, who has recorded seven albums, also said he is "the difference between first and last place" and even took a jab at former New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing's lack of championship rings.
http://www.nbc5.com/sports/16690390/detail.html?rss=chi&psp=news

Bar ordered to cough up $500,000-plus over substitute

Chicago nightclub to pay for serving fake Red Bull energy drink Bar ordered to cough up $500,000-plus over substitute By Deanese Williams-Harris and Ameet Sachdev | Tribune reporters May 1, 2008
Red Bull, the energy drink, is seeing red over bars passing off less-expensive competitors as its product, a popular mixer in cocktails.
A Chicago nightclub was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in damages after people working undercover for Red Bull ordered drinks that mixed Red Bull with vodka but were served another energy drink.
The judgment against the Wet nightclub, 209 W. Lake St., marked the fourth time Red Bull has successfully sued bars over its trademark in the past 12 months.
The mystery-shopper tactics and lawsuits show the lengths to which popular consumer brands will go to protect their trademarks.
"Red Bull is going after high-profile bars and trying to make examples out of them. Their approach is to vigorously defend their brand," said Brian Morgan, a senior research analyst at Euromonitor International.
Energy drinks have grown to more than $4.8 billion in U.S. store sales, according to Euromonitor, with Red Bull owning one-third of the market. It's not clear how much is sold through bars. But energy drinks have become trendy mixers with alcohol, and Red Bull is the dominant player in that niche.
Competition is gunning for it, and more than 150 brands have emerged, with names like Rockstar, Monster, and Roaring Lion, which was launched by former Red Bull employees.
Some competitors have begun selling their products to bars and restaurants in a syrup that can be used with a beverage gun. Red Bull comes only in more expensive cans, and bar owners complain that they take up a lot of inventory space and produce a lot of waste.
Red Bull has found bartenders pouring energy drinks from soda guns and passing them off as Red Bull.
"We only use legal action as a last resort, when it is clear a bar or restaurant cannot effectively adhere to the law," Chad Peffer, vice president of sales for Red Bull North America, said in a statement Wednesday.
Suits also were brought against Dicey Riley's in Ft. Lauderdale, which was settled for $75,000; the Roxy Night Club in Orlando, which settled for an undisclosed amount; and the Tavern in Houston, which settled for $150,000.
The case involving Wet began in September 2004, when Angela Latino, a Red Bull manager, went into the nightclub and ordered Absolut vodka with Red Bull. Instead, she got a cocktail made with a different energy drink.
Latino asked the bartender if it was made with Red Bull from a can. The bartender replied that it was made with "something like Red Bull from the gun," according to a filing in the U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Over the next several years about a dozen Red Bull "scouts" and private investigators visited the nightclub and also were served a substitute energy drink. One bartender told an undercover Red Bull investigator that Red Bull was something of a generic term for energy drink: "It's like if you ask me for Kleenex and I give you a tissue."
The investigator said the substitute didn't taste like Red Bull, to which the bartender replied, "That's because it is actually made with Roaring Lion, which is a little different."
The bar was warned several times not to misrepresent the Red Bull product to customers, according to court filings. Ultimately, Red Bull brought its suit in March 2007 against Simon Gordon and Selective Publishing Inc. Gordon is the president of Selective Publishing, the bar's owner, according to court records.
Gordon couldn't be reached for comment. He didn't respond to the suit, and the judge in January issued a default judgment against him and Selective. He was ordered to pay $576,000 to Red Bull, including $35,250 in lost profit, and $97,000 in attorney's fees.
In July 2007 Wet's owners also were sued in federal court in Chicago by four employees who claimed they were not paid. A judge last month ordered that they be paid about $28,000. dawilliams@tribune.com
asachdev@tribune.com
More articles
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu-red-bullmay01,0,5083163.story

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