Kid Cudi ain’t coming day or nite

Despite a bill that passed in the ASUCD Senate to fund a Kid Cudi concert, the concert will not be happening.

The bill, which was authored by ASUCD Senator Darwin Moosavi, passed in a 9-3 vote in a senate meeting on March 10. However, the negotiations with Kid Cudi and his management ultimately failed due to financial and management issues.

“The Entertainment Council Productions Coordinator and the chief contract negotiator were unsuccessful in brokering a contract in which we felt we could afford and responsibly host for an April 28 show,” said Moosavi in an e-mail interview. “For reasons of new raised costs from the agency, time constraints given the contract negotiation, and interpersonal issues among Kid Cudi’s management team, we did not feel comfortable signing a contract under the new conditions.”

The concert was originally set to cost ASUCD a total of $133,000, with $80,000 going to Kid Cudi and his management. The rest of the money would have been used for renting the Pavilion, production costs, advertising and paying an opening artist.

Student tickets were to be sold for $40 and public tickets were to be priced at $60. Entertainment Council calculated that if all of the tickets sold, ASUCD would make a $146,750 profit. The concert would have taken place at the Pavilion on April 28.

Entertainment Council requested that news about the bill be kept quiet until contract negotiations were finished, so Kid Cudi’s agent would not raise the price of the concert.

However, after the bill passed, a Facebook group called “Bring Kid Cudi to Davis” sent out a message confirming the concert. After the Facebook message was released and Kid Cudi’s management realized the immense student interest in the concert, they raised their price to $90,000 and then $105,000.

After much negotiation with Kid Cudi’s management, Entertainment Council decided that they could not reach a contract that would be financially possible for UC Davis.

“We were deep in negotiations with Kid Cudi’s management, and were very close to reaching an agreement. Ultimately, though, we decided that the process could not enter its final stages due to financial and contractual concerns,” said members of Entertainment Council in a statement.

However, even before the bill passed, some thought the concert was too expensive for ASUCD to fund. Worries about being able to sell all of the tickets were voiced at the senate meeting.

The total $133,000 cost would have come from the capital reserve funds, which are defined as expenditures that will be used for at least two years, such as resources for ASUCD units, said ASUCD Senator Eli Yani.

“It has a great deal of importance, not only because it can be used to purchase new equipment and new things for ASUCD, but also because we get about $100,000 in interest from it every year,” Yani said.

This concert would have been the largest use of capital reserves in the past four fiscal years. The most expensive bill passed recently was $91,676.93 to buy Tipsy Taxi new vans.

To use capital reserves for the concert, ASUCD would have had to suspend the bylaws that define the uses of capital reserves. Yani said that he felt the concert was an incorrect use of capital reserves.

“Personally, I think it’s fiscally irresponsible. Capital reserves, as defined in the bylaws, have a very specific purpose. I believe that we should not have suspended the bylaws in order to fund the concert,” Yani said.

While many of the organizers are disappointed that the concert will not be happening, Moosavi was proud of the students who worked on the project and is hopeful for future similar projects.

“They all worked tirelessly to ensure the most financially sound, safest, best priced and most student friendly event possible was brought to our campus,” he said. “This teamwork and dedication shows great potential for what students can expect out of ASUCD over the coming year.”

HANNAH STRUMWASSER can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.