New dispute over top DJ

Gigi D’Agostino sues Electric Love Festival

Italian star DJ Gigi D'Agostino is currently the talk of the town again. Racists are abusing his big hit "L'amour toujours" from 1999 for their own purposes.

(Bild: Gigi D'Agostino)

First the Sylt scandal, now the fee dispute: star DJ Gigi D'Agostino was supposed to perform at the Electric Love Festival at the Salzburgring. This did not happen. Nevertheless, the Italian is insisting on his fee - and is now going to court ...

The first hype surrounding the artist may have been years ago, but now his songs are back in many international charts. Italy's star DJ Gigi D'Agostino is currently struggling with negative headlines. Incorrigible racists added xenophobic slogans to his hit "L'Amour Toujours" and repeatedly sang them loudly in nightclubs - the "Krone" reported several times.

The Electric Love Festival takes place this year from July 4 to 6. The warm-up party takes place the day before.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

The Italian himself has nothing to do with any of this. Instead, the musician is currently involved in a legal dispute with the organizers of the Salzburg Electric Love Festival (ELF). D'Agostino was due to perform at the Salzburgring in summer 2020. His fee: 40,000 euros according to "Krone" research. He collected half of this in advance, and the DJ was supposed to receive the rest after his performance. But that never happened.

The entire Electric Love Festival had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ELF organizers made agreements with all artists. They were allowed to keep their deposits and make up for their guest appearances at Salzburg as soon as they were possible again due to coronavirus.

The Italian star DJ Gigi D'Agostino is currently on everyone's lips again. Racists are misusing his big hit "L'amour toujours" from 1999 for their own purposes.

(Bild: Gigi D'Agostino)

Such an agreement with D'Agostino apparently did not materialize due to poor communication on the part of the musician. The star DJ was contacted again at the end of 2021 to discuss the details of his appearance at ELF 2022.

About the person

Born Luigino Celestino Di Agostino on December 17, 1967 in Turin. He initially worked as a stonemason, mechanic and plumber. At the same time, he organized parties in various clubs and soon made a name for himself as a DJ, remixer and music producer. He is considered the inventor of the lento violento style and the most important interpreter of the Italo dance scene. He became internationally known for songs such as "In my mind", "Bla Bla Bla", "The Riddle", "La Passion" and "L'amour toujours".

The latter was misused for racist chants on the North Sea island of Sylt and in Carinthia. "In my mind" was downloaded 1.5 billion times on Spotify, "L'amour toujours" more than 450 million times, with 12.4 million listeners.

In January 2022, it was announced that D'Agostino was suffering from a serious illness. After a health-related break of almost two years, he will perform live again for the first time in fall 2024. The concerts in Graz (October) and Klagenfurt (December) are sold out, with remaining tickets still available for Dornbirn (March 2025).

No verdict yet in the fee dispute
However, the Italian has now vehemently demanded the 20,000 euros for his non-appearance in 2020. The Italian was also suffering from health problems. D'Agostino therefore did not perform at the Electric Love Festival in 2022 either.

He has now taken legal action against the Salzburg music festival. At a court hearing in Switzerland, his lawyer recently stated that the second part of the payment should have been made by May 2020.

A verdict in the case is still pending.