Bloodshot Records Artists Warned of Sale & Accounting Issues
On Monday, July 20th, all artists currently signed to independent music label Bloodshot Records received a letter written by the principal employees of the 25-year-old Chicago-based record label explaining in detail how the label is currently up for sale due to a continued ownership issue, and how artist reimbursement likely has experienced accounting issues, resulting in artists and songwriters not being compensated properly.
Bloodshot Records was founded by Rob Miller and Nan Warshaw in 1993 as an “insurgent country” record label catering to the punk-inspired roots resurgence. Bloodshot helped to launch the careers of artists such as Ryan Adams, Neko Case, The Old 97’s, Justin Townes Earle, and is the current label home of Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Ruby Boots, Robbie Fulks, Jason Hawk Harris, Laura Jane Grace, The Vandoliers, Scott H. Biram, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, The Yawpers, The Banditos, Murder By Death, The Mekons, and others.
Issues began at the label on February 16th, 2019 when alt-country singer and songwriter Lydia Loveless came out with a statement claiming that Bloodshot Records did not properly address the behavior of Nan Warshaw’s partner, Mark, who regularly sexually harassed and groped her during label functions over multiple years. After a public outcry ensued, Nan Warshaw announced on March 9th, 2019, that she would be stepping down from her position at the company, and selling her 50% stake in the label to co-owner Rob Miller.
However according to the July 20th letter from Bloodshot employees, the private negotiations between Nan Warshaw and Rob Miller have not reached a conclusion, with Miller possibly not being in a position to pay market price for the other half of the company. In lieu of Miller taking over full ownership, the catalog is being shopped to other labels.
“On Friday, July 3rd, 2020, Warshaw informed the entire staff that it is her intention to sell the label,” the letter from Bloodshot employees states. “She has begun the process of shopping it to larger companies in the hope of a sale. We as a staff do not know what this could look like in term of the continuation of the label in any context, nor exactly what a sale would mean for the artists’ recorded works or the music they intend to record for the label; in the future.”
Further troubling for Bloodshot Records artists, songwriters, and their fans, the employee letter states that they believe creators are not being fairly compensated due to Nan Warshaw not fulfilling her continuing role as 50% owner.
Several weeks after Warshaw’s resignation, the staff was tasked with ensuring that all of Bloodshot’s financial documents were organized and accounted for in order to assist with the amicable legal negotiations which would finalize Warshaw’s departure from Bloodshot via [Rob] Miller’s purchase of her 50% stake. Miller’s statements and artists payments were located and audited and deemed to be accurate. However, we were unable to locate many crucial documents and statements pertaining to Warshaw’s legal and accounting duties.
After months of delay and debate, Warshaw confirmed that she was also unable to locate or provide the missing statements and documents. It is our belief that some of the statements were not generated, or at the very least, never sent to the relevant artists, publishers, or songwriters. Additionally, many of the royalty statements that we were able to locate appeared to be either inaccurate, incomplete, or calculated using methods that differ from those mandated by the recording contracts.
Out of necessity, the staff began to audit and reproduce statements from scratch, some of which were finalized and sent to Warshaw as early as November 2019. Warshaw began working with staff directly to finalize statements and requested that the statements be withheld from the artists until she had time to review and approve them. We continued to finish the statements, and upon individual completion, sent them to Warshaw for final approval. The last of the statements were sent directly to Warshaw on June 3rd, 2020. Warshaw has yet to send the staff approval for any of those statements.
The amount of royalties we believe are due to artists and songwriters at this point in time is considerable. We have repeatedly asked Warshaw that the statements be sent to the artists, and we have expressed frustration, disappointment, and skepticism at the lack of progress. It has become increasingly apparent to us that Warshaw’s attention is pointed toward the sale of the catalog and not the transparent and complete settling of these royalty statements.
As the home of important independent country artists such as 2018 Saving Country Music Album of the Year winner Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, upstart progressive country performer Jason Hawk Harris, and country legends such as Wayne “The Train” Hancock, the news out of Bloodshot Records is troubling, especially from a label that was set up primarily to offer a home to country and roots artists who did not want to relinquish their money or creative freedom to a major label.
Jason Hawk Harris published the employee letter publicly on Tuesday morning (7-21). “I can confirm this. Nan Warshaw, is forcing the sale of Bloodshot Records and withholding money owed to artists … Sharing this is my decision in full and I was not prompted by any Bloodshot employee. I thought long and hard about sharing this, but ultimately I don’t feel comfortable with her not having to face what she’s doing publicly. I also want to say that the Rob and the staff at Bloodshot have done nothing but fight for me, tooth and nail, since I signed with them a year and a half ago. I DO NOT have beef with Bloodshot. I have beef with a part-owner.”
The full letter can be found below.
UPDATE: Bloodshot Records Co-Owner Nan Warshaw Responds to Accusations
July 21, 2020 @ 11:46 am
I’m having a harder and harder time understanding why, in 2020, anyone would want to be on a record label at all. Crowdsourcing and VERY easy online distribution channels…. what’s the benefit of working with these parasites at all? I already know some of the counter arguments, but…what if there more companies like 30 Tigers that an artist could chose to help with marketing…what if there were legal teams setup in a similar fashion? What if people who wanted vinyl and CDs, prepaid for them and they were made in smaller batches with minimal wait times? I don’t know, maybe it’s silly, but damn, who isn’t tired of hearing about these stories and wants more of the money to go to the artists themselves?
July 21, 2020 @ 12:30 pm
Hey Jake,
To put it simply, because it is a fucking grind.
For an artist to get people to listen to their music you need a few different things. Let’s start off by assuming the music is good for the sake of this argument.
If you’ve spent the money to make a “good” record, you are now in the hole anywhere from $1,000-10,000, maybe more. That’s a big hit right there just for a recording budget. But now the real work begins, getting people to give a shit about your music. Let’s face it, people are overwhelmed by the selection that streaming services have given them. So you need a promotional budget to get your music in their face so that they might click on a spotify link, and the key word there is “might”. Now a typical promotional budget for an album is going to run an independent artist about $5,000 for starters, if they want to have it be effective, and again, maybe more. Some people argue for cheaper alternatives, but this is the general number I see floating around.
So let’s say you got the album made on the cheap for $1,000, and had to throw $5,000 at promo. So now you are $6,000 in the hole, and still haven’t made a return. Now let’s make some merchandise so we can try to get some ROI here, because frankly, streaming money isn’t going to cut it if you aren’t Tyler Childers. So you find a cheap place to make 100 shirts and the batch runs you $1,000. You hope to sell them all for $20 a pop, giving you a $1,000 ROI. Well if you sell out of those, you are still $5,000 in the hole. but you can make some more with the money you made, which would put you back at that $6,000 number in the hole until those shirts sell.
Want to press your record to vinyl? Alright, well even if you only make 150 of them (most pressing plants have minimums) you are looking at $2,000 from Pirates Press after shipping,. And to honestly sell 150 of them you have to tour…so let’s go ahead and get that booked ourselves shall we?
Let’s pretend we aren’t in the middle of a pandemic and can actually play shows for the sake of this argument. So you and your band are going to book a 5 state 10 show tour. You sit down at your computer to research the venues that would be a good fit for you, after a few hours you find a list of 20 venues that would be a good fit and you have found the bookers contact info. Now you need to email them your Electronic Press Kit (another thing that can cost money to put together, but again let’s do this on the cheap and say you DIYed it). This will take you a few more hours to put together as you will need a solid photo of your band (again, let’s say you didn’t pay a professional photographer and just had a friend do it), links to some positive press, and links to your music. Basically anything that says you can provide a “draw” (amount of people you can expect to come to your show…in a city you’ve never played and where nobody has heard of you. But hopefully your press campaign got your music in their ears and they buy some tickets). So you’ve done this to 20 venues, and only 5 get back to you. The dates don’t line up, so you need to go back to them to ask for different dates because you will be in Milwaukee on July 4th and can’t possibly make the drive to be in Fargo by July 5th. One of the venues doesn’t bother with you because they have local bands that can guarantee a draw and don’t want to waste their time on something that isn’t a sure thing. Now you are down to 4 venues out of state that you can play. Alright, so back to the drawing board. Hounding those 10 that didn’t get back to you with emails and phone calls until you get 3 more to agree to book you. Magically, all the dates line up. You will do 7 shows over 3 states in a 10 day period. It will be tough but you can do it, it’s for the dream right?
So let’s get a van and figure out gas money. The drummer has a van you can all pack in so you are good there. It only gets 14 mpg because it’s a 99 econoline, but you’re chasing your dream damnit! Nothing is going to stop you. The tour will cover just over 1,500 miles, so divide that by 14 and you will need 100 gallons of gas, or about $250 dollars burned there. Now we are at $7,250 in the hole (remember we had those vinyls made).
You get to your first gig…and 100 people show up at $5 a head. Venue takes a 20% cut and you walk away with $400, split between 4 bandmates, everyone gets $100. Not too bad! Let’s say we sold 3 records and 5 shirts at $20 a piece. that’s another $160 for the band fund! Now say you do this same thing at all 7 shows. You make $1,120 from the tour! Not bad, but where did you sleep? Where did you eat? How much of that money was gone before you even made it home?
Let’s take a look at your streaming numbers for your new heavily promoted album! You got some nice press in the local newspaper and even on some national outlets so you’re hoping to see some success. But you click on your spotify and see that each song is floating around 2,000 streams. Deflating. Did our album suck? Let’s assume it didn’t. People just weren’t exposed to it enough to hear it, and it’s nobodys fault, there are just a lot of options out there right now. But let’s say you gained some fans even from your little tour and the buzz your album generated. Consider that a win! Now you just need to do this again and again and again until you get enough fans that this has the potential to be a source of sustainable income. But as of right now, you’re out about $6,000 and you have to reinvest what little you do make back in to the band so you can afford to do it all again to get even more fans.
It’s a tough row to hoe, but if you could have a record company leverage some of their contacts to get you better press, booked at better venues, and maybe even some radio slots it might not seem all bad. Now of course, they are going to take their share of the profits, but you get to focus on the music and leave the business stuff to the business people.
And THIS is why BJ Barham is such a brilliant individual, he built that brand himself doing it just as I described above, fighting for every single fan American Aquarium has made. And it’s also why Sarah Shook said she lives below the poverty line despite selling out clubs around America while being signed to Bloodshot.
Hope that answers your question, and I hope I didn’t come off as some bitter musician who didn’t make the cut. It’s tough out there, and I think the record labels like Bloodshot have an important role in helping artists out when they are new. If they go under (and others like them) that is one less person fighting on our behalf, and will most likely result in a lot of great musicians giving up the dream because it’s just too damn hard.
July 21, 2020 @ 12:39 pm
I want to stress that the scenario I concocted above is an absolute ideal scenario, and as we all know, things rarely work out perfectly according to plan. I left out all the man hours put in to creating an EPK, finding the right places to spend your promotional budge, finding the right company to work with for merch, inner band schedule conflicts for a tour, finding the right contacts for venues/radio/streaming playlists etc, finding someone to create artwork for your merch and album covers, finding a studio that provides quality at a good price, rehearsal hours, studio time etc. etc. etc.
I also realize that I did some math wrong above, so I do apologize for that.
Peace everybody, wish you all nothing but the best.
July 21, 2020 @ 2:23 pm
haha grant, kudos to you for taking the time to write that epistle. It’s gospel truth all the way through!
July 21, 2020 @ 5:09 pm
We’re doing this very thing right now, but we’re lucky enough to be musicians who do it on the side, and not as a main source of income. So that’s important to note, but I do agree to a degree. Buck the system.
Our band Bi-Product’s first album comes out the 31st. It’s my small, very close group of friends. Here’s what we’ve spent:
$0 Recording/Mastering – But this involves dozens of hours of each of us, and hundreds of hours for my producer working for the love of it. It also involves already owning a great deal of equipment.
$200 – Stickers and pins, mostly for promo.
$250 CD’s – 150 CD’s, also mostly for promo, because most people don’t buy them, but they’re easy to hand out, even if just as business cards.
$2,500 – 250 LPs on 180gm, clear with heavy red splatter vinyl with an additional 30 test presses (through Pirates Press).
So I can totally understand why day to day musicians need assistance on this, but we decided to form our own record label instead, IFL Records (In For Life) because rather than trust anyone with our baby, or make someone pay for a potential defective baby, we’re putting the trust in ourselves. Will it work? Depends on your definition of success. Breaking even would be a HUGE success for us.
July 21, 2020 @ 12:55 pm
Hey Grant,
Thanks for the detailed response. Much of what you mentioned is what I meant by “I already know some of the counter arguments.” Theres a good documentary about the prog metal band “car” bomb that illustrates the plight you describe pretty well. It would take some new resources for sure. I just think with the technology of today, there must be some way to leverage it more than is being done so already. Amazon seemed implausible at one point. What, they’re selling things online? Theyre going to start delivering their own packages? They’re launching TV shows? Crazy talk! I’m not saying it’s apples to apples. I just find it odd that in 2020, something like labels still exist as they have for so long, and in some cases, with 360, even worse. As you hit on with Sarah…often times its financially worse. If BJ and Jason Isbell can do it, it is possible. I’m not sitting here saying I have the answers. Rather, that I hate them as much as ever, and hope there’s some smarter people out there than me, who can better address your concerns and needs than the traditionally structured record label. Thanks again and best of luck.
July 21, 2020 @ 1:07 pm
I know man, I wish I had an answer to. Tell ya what, if you start a business like that, I’ll be the first to sign up!
In the case of Isbell he had the “luxury” of having some name recognition from his days as a Trucker that gave him a head start with his solo career. I put luxury in quotes because I know he worked damn hard to have that “luxury” and earned every bit of recognition he got. But just having the name helps a TON. That’s where I think labels come in. It’s like this, if Trigger tells me an album is good, I’ll probably give it a listen because I trust his opinion. If my friend (God love him) who thinks the Voice is the best in American music, tells me an album is good, I’m probably less inclined to check it out. Now imagine that independent artists are the friend and record labels are Trigger. Venues, radio hosts etc. will trust someone with a name telling them something is good, much more than they will trust just some other independent artist begging them to give their new masterpiece a listen.
The piece of the puzzle I am trying to figure out is Sturgill. His first album was put out on his own label, and he was able to get some pretty massive press with it. What contacts did he have that were vouching for him along the way? Did he foster some relationships during his time in Nashville that he called on when it was time to put that thing out? Is he simply a great businessman? Was it the Sunday Valley stuff that gave him the head start? I can’t quite figure it out, but when I do, rest assured that I will be copying that playbook note by note lol
But I digress, I believe you are in heading in the right direction with your creative problem solving to address the issues. My big thing just comes back to the relationships that labels are able to leverage on behalf of the artist, I just don’t see a way of duplicating that when labels are so entrenched in the American Music DNA.
July 21, 2020 @ 1:22 pm
All good and fair points. I think much of what you’re talking about is marketing, which is why I mentioned 30 Tigers as an example.
To take and extend my analogy of Amazon…. I’m sure someone told them UPS and Fedex and TV network studios were “too entrenched.” I’m sure someone told Uber that the taxi industry was too powerful and entrenched.
All this is good chat, bit it’s another thing to do it. It’s beyond me and my entrepreneurial ability, unfortunately. If that changes, I’ll let you know ????
July 21, 2020 @ 2:17 pm
Sturgill had a top manager, booking agent and press agent, plus a wife with experience in marketing who helped him concoct the divisive anti-“bro country” narrative to get the fan base riled up (gotta give em something to believe in and fight for – just like politics, people want a good story and a hero they can get behind). There’s a YouTube video of his management talking about the strategy behind his “overnight success” floating around somewhere. But, most importantly, he had Trigger. Anecdotally, everyone I know who knows about Sturgill’s music outside of Nashville either found out about it through SCM or me. And I found out about it through SCM.
July 21, 2020 @ 2:31 pm
Thanks for that Scott!
Was this the video you were referring to?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7rx2Gklu0Q
July 22, 2020 @ 7:48 am
Halfway through Grant’s great explanation, I started thinking to myself “How the hell did BJ Barham do this for so long. How is he still doing all of this?” Apparently I was not the only one making that connection.
July 22, 2020 @ 11:39 am
I read an article recently that when he signed to New West the labelhead sat down with everyone on her team and said “Listen, BJ knows how to do all of our jobs already, and he can probably even do some of them better…”
I’m paraphrasing, but I loved the sentiment.
In that article BJ mentioned that he signed with New West so they could leverage relationships for the promotion of his new album (get on spotify playlists, billboard charts etc.) and it seemes to be working out for him. I wish that guy nothing but the very best, just living proof that hard work can pay off.
July 22, 2020 @ 2:33 pm
Brilliant post Grant, thanks for laying it out like this. Yikes.
July 21, 2020 @ 3:15 pm
Grant posted a pretty good idea below but I will also reply. Money and resources of a team to help/believe in you. It’s insane the amount it takes to compete and try to earn a living. Getting the music out there.
I’ve interviewed him before but Aaron Watson on his own indie label has 25 full time employees, which still doesn’t include part time who may he needed. Even at the low end 40k average per employee that’s a million in payroll right there. Want to try a song or two to throw money at radio add another million. That’s before you make an album at that level which may cost 100k or more. Professional production on a major label single to compete is 25k.
Then you book a show and wme is getting 15%. Don’t forget you have to have a bus and driver, if you lease it will run around $1,500 a day to get to the show.
You sell merchandise and the booking agent is getting 20% of what you sell.
Major labels are looking at spending 2-3 million just to break a new artist and that isn’t guaranteed success.
You certainly can do it on a much smaller scale but that takes years of time and dedication to hustle.
July 22, 2020 @ 5:39 am
In my experience, if you see someone making it on their own, there’s a 90% chance they’ve got rich parents backing them.
July 22, 2020 @ 5:50 am
Hey Jake
As a writer with a couple books, let me tell you how it works
Put it simply: it’s a resources game.
I sold six books in the last two months
A signed author with an agent and a major publishing house could have sold six thousand for just a dime-store novel with a predictable ending
A major author with a gripping story could have sold six million.
I sold six.
I as a writer do not have the muscle to market and distribute my book and get people to buy it in large numbers, unless I spend MASSIVE amounts of money on advertising.
I also lack editing crews, proofwriters, and technical support.
Basically I am a one man army who has to write, edit, proofread, find second opinions, adjust, fix, etc all without getting paid.
When the book releases I have to make sure it prints correctly (usually this is the hardest part)
and I still dont get any money until someone buys it.
Now, outside of friends and family, who will buy it?
People I advertise to.
Now I’m spending labor hours OR dollars (or both) on advertising before getting paid.
I could have gotten three or four substantial checks from a nine-to-five job by this point
So a musician (or writer) GAINS from this relationship.
Firstly, they gain access to equipment, technical support, and (usually) experienced musicians and producers who can help them make a good record, without relying on “Jimmy I went to Church with who plays drums and my brother Bob on the bass, we recorded in my garage” or “I put up ten thousand out of pocket to pay for a studio and to pay this guitar teacher from downtown to lay down some licks”
Secondly, they get a bunch of people who can touch up the final product, make sure it’s as good as it can be
and more importantly they get access to a distribution channel
Basically, an artist doesn’t have to be a one man army hoping they get lucky
They buy into an established business that markets them
and they in return are expected to provide a product of worth
A hit song.
Now in the major music world, the hits are pre-recorded, the interviews are scripted, and the only thing the artist is is a marketable face.
Basically, in Nashville, the pencil-pushers have it finished, they just need a pretty boy whose face they can slap on it before they roll it out.
Now what I get that a signed author doesn’t get is I get complete control.
I get to go back and edit things post-release if I decide I missed a comma
I get to pick my own covers
I get to work on my own schedule (around the nine to five job I get regular paychecks from)
and in the last two months I made twenty dollars in book sales.
The parasites do most of the work, the artist gets the glory.
Now, what Luke Bryan does is the equivalent of I go in and say “I’m a writer” and I’m handed a book that’s basically already written, I just get to put my name on it, say it’s mine, and make a fortune.
even though I didn’t actually create anything.
Or, more accurately, Luke Bryan is a column writer with clickbait articles that everyone clicks on even tho they have no literary value.
July 22, 2020 @ 3:05 pm
Thanks Fuzzy,
I tried to elude to it in my comment by saying I know all the arguments against what I said, because I also have experience with this. I get it. I also get that nothing will ever change if we think it’s impossible. There was an artist highlighted here recently who bucked the system to an extent. Just seems to be something worth exploring. I’m glad my comment prompted some interesting replies though.
July 21, 2020 @ 1:35 pm
Indeed. It is pretty hard to make it without a label . Would Midland have made it left to their own devices. And they already had money.
July 21, 2020 @ 2:27 pm
Sarah and The Disarmers worked and still do work so hard I’m very saddened by this for them. I’m pretty sure the new album is in the can, I hope it doesn’t end up tied up in legal shit?
To Grant above…….. great post! Yep the music business as a business sucks for many who can’t dial it in (independent or otherwise) and now many of our favorites can’t even make money playing gigs while still putting out music……and barely breaking even or losing more money. I think about the 20 or so gigs I would’ve went to in the last 4 months and the money I would’ve spent on tickets and merch everyday. I was only too happy to throw $$ in their tip jars just because it made my out of work ass feel a little better. 🙂
July 21, 2020 @ 2:34 pm
I think it is long past time for artist-owned labels to take root. The idea of one person controlling 50% of a label and having the power to single-handedly take down the company needs to go by the wayside.
July 21, 2020 @ 2:56 pm
Or maybe existing labels could be audited more regularly? I know of contracts with clauses that say the artists can request an audit, but the artist has to pay for it.
July 21, 2020 @ 4:55 pm
Might be a dumb question, but how much would a record label like this go for?
July 21, 2020 @ 6:07 pm
The value is often in the catalog, meaning all the cumulative albums they’ve released over the last 25 years, and the future revenue opportunities from those titles not just from sales, but movie/TV/Ad placement, etc. I’m not really sure what the number would be, but my guess it would be much more than what and average human could yank out of their pocket and pay for. That’s why most of the time these sales go to one of the big three—Sony, Warner, or Universal, in some sort of imprint.
When I first started Saving Country Music, Bloodshot Records was where it was at. It was the ultimate street cred label. It would be a shame if it got gobbled up by some big corporation.
July 22, 2020 @ 9:43 am
I’d say a super ballpark guess of anywhere from $1 – $10 million to buy out the whole thing? Even if they’re not operating in the green, you’d have to buy out any debt. I bet it’s tricky valuating everything correctly with so much uncertainty about record sales, and whether the name recognition (aka “goodwill”) is worth much. It’s probably just enough money that not many people would want to buy it, but way too much for the current owners to walk away at a loss. A good business person who was passionate about the type of music could probably revamp the label and do something cool. I could see a combination purchase/merging of, say, Bloodshot and New West being interesting. These well-established indie labels are kind of dinosaurs at this point. Newer, artist-owned home labels are filling the voids they used to fill. At the same time, there is a need for a step between those and the majors. But is there a need for more than 2 at that level, considering Thirty Tigers, Partisan, ATO, etc?
Warner Music Group (which includes Atlantic Records, Warner Records, Elektra Records and Parlophone Records) sold for $3.3 billion in 2011. Estimated to be valued around $13.3 billion now. It’s a public company so you can see the financial statements online. Granted it’s a much bigger beast than an indie like Bloodshot, so that’s where the guess of $1 – $10 million comes from, although I don’t see many who would be willing to pay that. It would be interesting to see the financial statements.
July 22, 2020 @ 6:58 am
Lots of great points made. If it were easy, everyone would do it. I understand the “evil” belief in a record label but what is better, all of a little or a percentage of a lot? I have friends that can record the band but they deserve to be paid for their time. I want paid when I sell the record. Where do they get theirs? A friend has a small label. He may front the costs but he has to get his costs and more and rightfully so. We could move a lot more product on the label. Is it worth it? I don’t know. What I do know is that any help is greatly appreciated. Having a team is better than doing it all yourself. Even BJ has a team.
July 22, 2020 @ 11:33 am
When somebody finally writes a tell-all book about Bloodshot Records, it’ll read like a Jackie Collins novel. I’ll be the first one in line to buy it.
July 22, 2020 @ 12:21 pm
https://www.facebook.com/sarahshookandthedisarmers/videos/307976650514549/?vh=e&extid=yGyVpOCmnEUvju7R
Sarah Shook has something to say
July 22, 2020 @ 2:26 pm
I get that emotions are high, but it sounds like Sarah’s take on this might be a little naive if what’s going on is that Rob isn’t able to pay the correct price. Of course Nan is going to look for the best price she can get. She can’t just sell her half to Rob for what he can afford to pay if what he can afford to pay is not the true value of half the company and debts owed. Getting the highest price is better for everyone if there are back royalties owed to the artists. How else would anyone get paid back? This has nothing to do with loyalty or friendships, it’s straight business.
Now, if Rob offered a reasonable price and Nan is still holding out, that’s a different story.
July 22, 2020 @ 3:15 pm
Nan Warshaw has every right to attempt to get as much money as she can for her half of Bloodshot. After all, my guess is she’ll never work again in this business, so it’s sort of her golden parachute. But, she could also consider the best interest of the artists and label, which she appears to not be doing. I think what Sarah and many are most angered over (and what she mentions) is how she presented herself as a champion for artists and women’s rights until it didn’t fit her best interests, and how she’s been screwing everyone over by withholding royalties. Sale or no, you have a legal obligation to pay artists, and that’s what’s most troubling.
July 22, 2020 @ 3:32 pm
There are two separate issues: 1) an accounting scandal with back royalties owed and 2) Nan’s hypocrisy when it came to image and supporting women. Sarah specifically says Nan should sell the company to Rob to make amends for the latter because it’s the right thing to do. Maybe. But gifting the company to Rob for less than it’s worth just because he’s a good guy and cares about his artists won’t fix the accounting issues if he can’t afford to pay the back royalties.
July 22, 2020 @ 3:37 pm
Interesting. This prompted me to read the employee letter again. In my time in the industry, I dealt with companies both big and small. I never encountered a situation where the owner was so heavily involved with the accounting. Aware? Had power? Sure. But it seems strange to me that it took so long, and an impending sale, to find there were “accounting issues.” There’s no other staff accountant there? Who was doing daily payables and receivables, and according to what procedures? I have no knowledge as to what happened here, but I have more than a little experience with companies placing blame on people who are no longer there, to cover their own asses, especially when they had other flaws. It’s important to remember that we are hearing only one side of the story here. That letter could be 100% accurate, but who knows. One things for sure, it was certainly well crafted by somebody.
July 22, 2020 @ 12:56 pm
Such a shame, more record company shenanigans and artists, their livelyhoods and works in jeopardy. It’s a shame when artists get caught up in this and their idealism is taken advantage of.
I’ll offer some advice as from looking at the outside in. Some if this may not apply to this situation specifically, but should be treated as general cautious advice. I am a consumer, not an artist. It’s easy to loose focus on the practical when persuing the art. I implore artists to be more circumspect and critical with business issues. Record companies, large foreign owned concerns or “street cred” indie shops need to make money. That’s their motive, whether for shareholders or to be “noble”. When the time comes to interact on a record deal, don’t get caught up in the rapture. Artists, perform due diligence!! Get a good lawyer who knows entertainment law, but also one with strong business savy. Investigate the record company and all involved for that matter…. Get financials, do the Justia, PACER, Casetext and the D and B thing. Know the “condition” of who you are getting involved in. It’s not only about a Svengali stealing your work, it’s about a company that may be on the verge of financial ruin or some other perilous legal issue (sex scandal, pyramid, fraud whatever), all factors leading to a collapse with the artist left in limbo. And artists have an obligation to themselves to retain all ownership and rights to their masters (outright, no conditions other than to license their use and perhaps shield them via a trust, LLC, whatever term). That may not be possible and cost you a deal, or do you want to regret it later. Be patient and investigate and hold out for a deal that respects your rights as an artist. Artists work do hard, as “Grant” depicted so well, shouldn’t have those efforts lost in the clinch.