Focus Detroit Electronic Music Festival Rift threatens music fest Artistic director's firing has angry artists questioning whether they'll return next year If you go What: Focus Detroit Electronic Music Festival When: May 26-28, noon-midnight Where: Hart Plaza, Detroit Price: Free Information: (313) 392-9200 By Wendy Case / The Detroit News DETROIT -- The Detroit Electronic Music Festival, which unexpectedly mushroomed into one of the country's biggest music events when it drew some 1.5 million people to its debut last year, is mired in a dispute that may threaten its very future. The festival's artistic director, Detroit techno artist Carl Craig, has been told his services are being terminated on May 30, two days after this year's festival ends. Craig reportedly was told that he had failed to get signed contracts from 18 of the 73 performers playing this year. Craig has countered with a lawsuit against the festival's producer, Pop Culture Media, headed by Carol Marvin. While artists say the free festival will go on as planned May 26-28, Craig's firing does not bode well for the future, says Patricia DeLuca, associate editor of Mixer magazine in New York, which follows electronic music. "I don't think the festival would continue to be an international draw. Carl Craig has got a lot of respect in the electronic music community," DeLuca said Tuesday. "To not have him on board next year I think would greatly affect the festival. I don't think they'll have the same caliber of artist without him." Craig's friend and early mentor, Detroit techno pioneer Derrick May, said Tuesday that "everyone in the community is upset and angry about this, but we have to think about what's best for the music. We are going to go out there and do our shows and be professional. That's what Carl would want." While many of the pioneers of electronic music -- traditionally made by DJs with turntables instead of bands with instruments -- are from Detroit, most of them had to go to Europe to become major stars. The Electronic Music Festival made them stars at home, while putting Detroit on the music map as it hasn't been since the heyday of Motown. The festival in Hart Plaza attracted electronic fans from around the world. "Any dynamic cultural event like that is important to Detroit," says Jim Dulzo, former head of the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival and director of the Frog Island Music Festival in Ypsilanti. "It's important that cooler heads prevail and the city and its artists are thought of first." The involvement of Craig -- an internationally respected artist, producer and businessman -- in the festival's organization gave it instant credibility. It was his job to put together the acts on the bill. But he was told last Thursday by Pop Culture Media that his three-year contract will be terminated after the festival. Craig says he was blind-sided by the faxed dismissal. He countered with a lawsuit against Pop Culture on Monday, claiming defamation of character and breach of contract. While he called his relationship with Pop Culture's chief Marvin "very turbulent," Craig said that being fired came as a shock. "I put my reputation on the line to make sure that this would be a great festival," he said. "My agreement was for three years and I had every reason to believe that I would be doing it." Repeated calls to Marvin and Pop Culture went unanswered Tuesday. But it has been widely reported that Craig's dismissal was due to his inability to meet the city's deadline for signed contracts from scheduled performers. "That's an issue between Pop Culture Media and Carl Craig," Phil Talbert, special activities coordinator for the Detroit Recreation Department, a festival co-sponsor, said Tuesday. "Ultimately, our contract is with Pop Culture Media. We were informed by Pop Culture Media that there were some issues with contracts and being able to meet the timelines the city requires to be able to pay those contracts. We are working diligently to put everything in place." The city may be watching the situation closely because of the potential financial impact. No one knows specifically how much money the Detroit Electronic Music Festival brought into the city last year, but the Metro Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that the typical tourist spends about $160 a day, so the three-day music festival was worth many millions to city coffers. May said that he is saddened by Craig's dismissal. But he said that he and the other artists scheduled to perform at the festival will do so as planned. "Carl was trying to introduce Detroit to the world," May said. "Things with Carol should never have gotten to this level." Hopes were high for this year's festival, dubbed the Focus Detroit Electronic Music Festival because Ford's Focus car is a major sponsor. The event had gleaned an international reputation from the first festival's success. "For numerous artists around the world, it's the most prestigious gig they could possibly get. They get to play in the city that inspired the music," said Brendan Gillen, a Detroiter who performed as Ectomorph at last year's festival and writes about electronic music in Detroit. "The mythology of this festival comes from the fact that Carl Craig is the creative director. To remove him makes me question what is the DEMF?" Gillen also said the reason Pop Culture Media supposedly gave for dismissing Craig was "ludicrous." "This (electronic music) world is artist-driven so, often, artists (act as) their own managers," he said. "It's typical that things happen last-minute all the time in electronic music. It seems like they (Marvin and Craig) have massive creative differences. But I don't think that this is the way to exercise that argument." Neither does Derrick May. "It's unfortunate," May said, "Carl being the intelligent one and Carol being the clever one -- they just couldn't seem to come together. They both wanted the same thing, but they just couldn't find it." You can reach Wendy Case at (313) 223-4647 or wcase@detnews.com.