Multiple sources tell us, the sticking point was the stage. Kanye made it clear he wouldn't perform on a traditional 60x40 foot stage because it was "artistically limiting." Goldenvoice, which produces the festival, would not allow the stage to be altered or removed for Ye's performance. In the end, we're told Kanye passed.

As one source put it, "These 40x60 stages are so archaic. It's the same type of stage on which Shakespeare's works were performed hundreds of years ago."

A Kanye source says after the Saint Pablo tour, Ye wants to give groundbreaking performances. As you know, the Saint Pablo stage moved over the crowd, and Kanye loved it.

For its part, Goldenvoice was not going to disrupt the festival and compromise the other acts to accommodate Kanye.