Dispute forces King Biscuit Blues Festival to change its name

After over 20 years of being known as the King Biscuit Blues Festival, a lawsuit is facilitating a name change for the non-profit event in Helena, Ark.

The festival, which is the creation of the Sonny Boy Blues Society, will now be known as the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival. Everything else about the event, from the free admission to location and lineup will remain the same.

The decision to change the name from the King Biscuit Blues Festival to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival comes after several years of negotiating between the SBBS and the King Biscuit Entertainment Group, of New York City, which owns the “King Biscuit” trademark.

Permission had been issued and accepted between both parties until this year, when King Biscuit Entertainment Group presented SBBS with a proposal earlier in the year asking for a rather large fraction of the festival’s income in exchange for King Biscuit Entertainment Group’s permission to use the King Biscuit name.

SBBS determined that it would have to pay $15,000 in order to use original festival name.

Wayne Andrews, director of SBBS, said the festival barely makes that much in profit every year and issued a counter offer, which was turned down.

“We offered to pay a license fee, provide recognition for the radio program, which KBE produces, and other benefits to establish an ongoing relationship, but evidently the KBE Group thought it was not enough,” he said.

The King Biscuit Blues Festival was launched to preserve the music traditions of the Delta. The name of the festival came from King Biscuit Flour which was produced in Helena, and sponsored the first blues radio show in the country, “King Biscuit Time,” which is still broadcast weekdays on KFFA in Helena.

SBBS was clearly disappointed in the outcome, although the group had started making arrangements to change the festival’s name in case an agreement could not be made. Andrews has already filed the proper paperwork to trademark and copyright the new name. And a graphic artist is currently creating a new logo as well.

“It is hard to understand how a group from New York which did not start business until 1973 can end up owning a name for a radio show that has been on the air in Arkansas since the 1940’s. The King Biscuit name has over 60 years of business and music history in Helena and now the festival, which is something that was started in Helena, will have to change it’s name because of a company in New York,” Andrews said in a statement.

He said the name change shouldn’t affect the festival.

“I don’t think it will affect the attendance; as many people come for the experience not because of the name,” Andrews said. “A large financial burden will be placed on our organization which is a non profit due to the last minute changes of merchandise with such a short time before the big event.”