Erin Wischmann, the student behind Pullman Events Presents (PEP) and the recent Tyga concert controversy continues to assert that the entire event was one big miscommunication between many parties.

Wischmann said both he and Student Entertainment Board (SEB) Concert Committee’s head Karsten McIntosh were both looking into hosting a Tyga concert at the same time and had joint connections.  

“This ultimately led to a bidding war that neither (me nor Karsten) wanted to put on,” he said.

Wischmann said he thought his organization could provide a better venue for the concert because the largest venue the SEB could reserve was the CUB Senior Ballroom, which would not hold Wischmann,’s anticipated turnout of 4,500 to 6,500 people.

He said the concert would not have been cheaper for students if put on by SEB based on the price Tyga was asking for. 

The PEP tickets cost $20 per person. 

 McIntosh said originally the SEB tickets would have cost $12. He said SEB uses money from Services and Acticities fees to put on concerts for students at a low cost.

“Essentially they were bidding against the other Cougs,” he said. “If Pullman Events Presents had stayed out of this, the concert would have happened in the CUB.”

Wischmann said he was able to match and eventually beat bids from SEB on personal savings and money earned from previous shows he put on. Despite rumors, Wischmann insists no personal loans were taken out to fund the show. 

Despite Wischmann’s assertions, McIntosh made a previous response to The Daily Evergreen stating that SEB put in a request to have Tyga perform in the CUB and three days later heard of a counter offer from another PEP to which SEB responded with a higher bid. The bid was later confirmed by Tyga’s management. 

The artist’s management ultimately pulled out of the SEB’s confirmed concert two weeks later because of a higher bid placed by PEP. 

Despite complaints from students that tickets were sold before a solid venue was confirmed, Wischmann said PEP never made an official announcement before the concert was confirmed.

“We knew we could do all the steps to produce the show,” he said. “We had all our ducks lined in a row. We were under the impression that Tyga was confirmed through an agency at Sunnyside park. Tyga’s management misled me.”

Wischmann said he was upset with the amount of people who made it difficult for him and his company to put on his show, including the university and the CougarCard Center.

He said the CougarCard Center promised PEP they could sell tickets there and eventually backed out for no reason. The university was also unsupportive of his goals to create his own
business. 

Janette Matanane, program director at the CougarCard Center, said this particular show had no affiliation with the university. She said the CougarCard Center could not have been involved because PEP is not a Registered Student Organization.

Although students voiced concern about the lack of communication between students and the event promoters throughout the controversy, Wischmann said it was all done with intent.

“I was taught that I shouldn’t open my mouth before I had something to say,” he said. “The booking agent was not clear and people just thought I was ignoring it. I just didn’t have information to give.”

The misinformation led to numerous comments on the Springbash Facebook page that underminded PEP’s efforts to put on a show. The company admitted to deleting some comments. The erasing of comments did not go unnoticed by students. 

“Every comment that exposes the truth is being deleted, at least it was in the beginning,” said Bartosz Szaniewski, senior digital, technology and culture major. “Now they’re getting exposed by too many people so deleting comments is getting difficult.”

However, Wischmann said the company’s intentions in deleting the posts were different.

“We were deleting posts because people were disrespectful, highly critical and offensive,” he said. “We are a business and need to maintain an image.” 

Wischmann was upset with the response from his classmates and members of the SEB concert committee.

“We’re all Cougs,” he said. “We’re just trying to make events possible. It was unprofessional for SEB members to rip down posters and critique our efforts on a public forum. We just want to work in a mutual and professional environment with them.” 

McIntosh said he specificially told members of his staff not to rip down posters. Once Tyga canceled their contract, SEB stayed out of the situation, he said.

PEP is planning to refund all tickets to students Wednesday between 5 and 8 p.m., the hours the concert was supposed to go on, in the CUB ground floor by the information desk.

To make up for large misunderstanding, Wischmann said free promotional items will be given to students as they wait in line for refunds.

“We have no regret with the effort we tried, “ he said. “There was nothing thoughtless, dumb or careless done on our part, just a serious of unfortunate events.”