Nobody Got Paid For Woodstock

[Carl]

That's what David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears told me. BS&T were reportedly second only to Hendrix on the pay scale, but in the end, it didn't matter because there was no money to pay. Says David:

Well, how could anybody get paid? The fans broke down the fences. Nobody was paying for tickets. There was no money. Jimi got $17,500. We got $15,000. We were the two highest-paid acts. But we didn't get paid. Nobody got paid.

Apparently, the real money from Woodstock was made from the movie, but the big acts were each slated to get a percentage. According to David, the producers solved this problem by keeping the headliners out of the film, which is why the movie is heavy on Country Joe and the Fish and Sha Na Na.

Not sure if this is authentic, but here is a report of what each act made:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/woodstock_69_artist_payments_jimi_hendrix_reportedly_tops_the_list_with_18000_fee.html

[edna]

 

Apparently, the real money from Woodstock was made from the movie, but the big acts were each slated to get a percentage. According to David, the producers solved this problem by keeping the headliners out of the film, which is why the movie is heavy on Country Joe and the Fish and Sha Na Na.

 

​ I don't get it. Who were the headliners? Jimi Hendrix appears on the film. Not CCR or Janis Joplin though.

[Carl]

Hendrix would definitely be a headliner, so that pokes a hole in this theory. Jimi was needed to close the film, since without him there would be no ending. BS&T were in a tougher spot because their set was in the middle, so they could be edited out without too much disruption. Getting cut out of the film meant getting cut out of history though, with was worse than the financial hit.