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" Flo Rida has been told to pay up following a missed festival in Australia last year. The &amp;#039;Whistle&amp;#039; musician has been ordered to pay over AU$400,000 (\u00C2\u00A3270,440) to organisers of the Fat as Butter festival in Newcastle by a New South Wales court.  Neither Flo Rida nor his Australian agent were present in court for the hearing on Friday (August 3), according to the Newcastle Herald. He was ordered to pay out a total of $417,345 (\u00C2\u00A3282,163) in damages, including compensation to the festival promoters for loss of earnings, lost sponsorship for this year&amp;#039;s festival and expenses paid out such as hospitality and transport for the rapper and his entourage. &amp;#039;&amp;#039;The no-show by Flo Rida damaged the trading reputation of the plaintiff, impacting its ability to stage future events, attract patrons and compete with rivals in the music event industry,&amp;#039;&amp;#039; Judge Judith Gibson told the New South Wales District Court. &amp;#039;&amp;#039;Sponsors were lost as news of the no-show spread far and wide through the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.&amp;#039;&amp;#039; Flo Rida was paid around AU$50,000 (\u00C2\u00A333,807) to perform at Fat as Butter in October 2011, but reportedly failed to turn up for the event. The case became notable as Matthew Hourn, a lawyer for festival promoter Mothership Music, was granted permission to serve a legal notice on Flo Rida via a link on his official Facebook page. &amp;#039;Whistle&amp;#039; topped the Australian charts earlier this year. Watch Flo Rida&amp;#039;s music video for &amp;#039;Whistle&amp;#039; below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a397494/flo-rida-ordered-to-pay-400000-for-australian-festival-no-show/>