April 08, (THEWILL) – Canadian singer, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, professionally known as The Weeknd, has revealed that he would pull out of the Coachella festival if he doesn’t get the same pay as Kanye West.
The Weeknd demanded to be paid the same money as West, who was set to make $8 million-plus a $500,000 production fee.
The Weeknd and house music supergroup, Swedish House Mafia, were announced early Wednesday, as the replacement for West, who was the Sunday headliner at the festival later this month.
The source said, “The Weeknd came in at a short notice to take West’s top shot. But Phil Anschutz (who owns Coachella Festival through AFG live) wanted to hold onto West’s money and pay The Weeknd far less, just a few million and the festival will pocket the rest.
“Even after Coachella announced the new lineup on Wednesday, a deal wasn’t in place for the Weeknd, who threatened to pull out at an hour notice, if he didn’t get the same deal as West.
“Finally on Wednesday, when Coachella was faced with the prospect of a second headliner act pulling out of Coachella at the last minute, Anschutz’s company agreed to pay The Weeknd the same amount that was offered to West.
