"Scott’s dual role as performer and host of the festival must be considered as well. “As a general proposition, it is fair to say that when an artist is curating or branding a festival, it may open them to additional liability,” said Tim Epstein, an attorney who has acted as general counsel for dozens of major festivals, including Pitchfork Music Festival.

Tim Epstein diverges sharply from Mongeluzzi on the issue. “Millions of shows have taken place that have open seating and general admission, without incident,” he said. “We are not going to have a situation where we’re banning that. I think that would be a mistake.” 

The conflict of opinion on this issue between Epstein, who represents festivals, and Mongeluzzi, who represents personal injury victims, is in some ways not surprising. But it is also indicative of the larger unresolved question of whether the failures of Astroworld are particular to Astroworld or rather a broad referendum on festival culture.

“We cannot paint with a broad brush here,” says Epstein. Mongeluzzi disagrees: “The industry has probably dodged a bunch of bullets in the past and it didn’t this time. This should be a wake up call to the artists, the promoters, and the people who profit from putting these on.”"

“When contacted by VICE, representatives for the seven festivals that dropped DaBaby did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did a representative for DaBaby.  Without information from those directly involved, it’s impossible to say exactly what DaBaby may have received in deposits from each festival.  And there’s also a chance he won’t retain those deposits at all, according to Tim Epstein, an entertainment attorney who represents a number of prominent music festivals, including Pitchfork Music Festival and Riot Fest.

At this stage, Epstein said, DaBaby’s agent is likely negotiating with festival promoters about how to move forward.  In a situation like this, even if an artist’s contract stipulates that they’re entitled to 10 percent of their guarantee, what they walk away with will probably come down to an agreement between their agent and festival promoters.

“These are going to be behind-the-scenes negotiations,” Epstein said of DaBaby’s situation. “He may have gotten the full guarantee from Lolla.  He may have gotten zero.  You're never going to find out, unless there's a lawsuit and stuff gets disclosed.”