In the Commercial Court yesterday, the promoter John Reynolds of POD Concerts was granted third party discovery of documents relating to the running of Electric Picnic. The documents relate to rebates allegedly paid by Ticketmaster on ticket sales between 2009 and 2013.

The decision is part of a wider case for control of the Electric Picnic festival, in which Reynolds is a minority shareholder. The festival ran first in 2004 as a one-day event and was headlined by Groove Armada. Aiken Promotions were among the original partners, alongside POD Concerts, but their association with the event ended in 2009. Festival headliners to date have included Arcade Fire, Kraftwerk, The Sex Pistols, Bjork, The Beastie Boys, The Cure, The Killers and Arctic Monkeys. In addition to John Reynolds, promoter Melvin Benn of Festival Republic has had a long association with the festival. It is now run by Festival Republic Dublin.

Reynolds, who is pursuing a High Court action against FRD, alleges that the rebates were paid without his knowledge and to companies outside his control. FRD denies the claim and counters that the POD Concerts promoter sought to have his shares in Electric Picnic bought at “grossly inflated prices.”

The first wave of artists for this year’s festival was announced this week, and included Beck, Outkast, Chic, Lily Allen, Portishead, Paolo Nutini and many more...