rolling #metoo thread for sexual harassment in the music industry so no one misses out when artists we don't give a fuck about like Tim Westwood and Bassnectar get caught

Meanwhile, the Bloodshot situation that blew up last year is apparently now leading to the demise of the label as a whole -- artists not getting paid, label now up for sale:

https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/bloodshot-records-artists-warned-of-sale-accounting-issues/

for once, please read the comments

Indeed, worth noting.

Sarah Shook's linked video is also good for a perspective of one of the affected artists, with a perspective on the employees.

Ian Svenonius—the singer and songwriter behind numerous bands including the Make-Up, Escape-ism, Nation of Ulysses, and Chain and the Gang—posted a statement to Instagram on Friday (July 24) where he admitted to a history of being “completely inappropriate to women.” That post, viewed by Pitchfork, was later deleted and his Instagram account was made private.

(...)

“I want to use this forum to say that I support people speaking out for the eradication of abusive predatory modes and also that I am absolutely one of the guilty parties,” he wrote. “That, through my narcissism, egotism, and thoughtlessness, I have acted the creep. That I have made people I cared about and respected feel terrible, have been completely inappropriate to women.” He added, “To anyone I have made feel bad or uncomfortable, I sincerely apologize and throw myself at your mercy. I always believed that I was a revolutionary and now my revolutionary act is self-immolation.”

"self-immolation" apparently including the post itself. as always a master of metacriticism

I have only ever seen this dude's name on ILX

he was the very first SASSIEST BOY IN AMERICA -- i think at one point several years ago, me and a friend were hanging out drinking bourbon and reading my old Sassy magazines, and we friended Ian on FB.

who were some other Sassiest Boys? was Sassy trying to warn us?

i was gonna say! the sassiest boy in America is admitting he was a creep and saying he's sorry. this is a new day in the USA.

he lied about his age to win the contest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Clark_(indie_rock_musician)

i would hope that the sassiest boy in America would sincerely apologize if he engaged in such behavior -- though if he were truly a paragon of sassiness, he would not have done such things ever.

13-Point Program to Subvert Sassiness

i think there were only 2 sassiest boys -- the magazine got sold and eviscerated around 1992

ian's a total creep from firsthand experience

when ian svenonius is apologizing publicly that does something to normalize admitting that you have been a creep/jerk/asshole/whatever you want to call it
that's something

other men who were Sassy editorial faves (just for those of you who were not subscribers -- which is probably the majority of ilx) : Michael Stipe, Iggy Pop, Kurt Cobain, Evan Dando ...

I would agree if not for the hasty deletion. I guess there's a chance it's going to be replaced with something more considered? xp

I saw a couple days ago that the guy who goes by Nobunny (Justin Champlin) also self-outed, but since he's done stuff on Burger I didn't bother.

https://pitchfork.com/news/nobunny-admits-to-taking-advantage-of-young-women-and-teenage-girls-says-hes-quitting-music/

"Sex Drugs and RnR became my religion.
Please Kill Me was my Bible.
Kim Fowley was my god."

i think ian svenonius is unable to not write like ian svenonius, which made his 'apology' read like another art project

^^

This was been widely requested and it is now (again) a reality! Here is the re-posted list of accused predators in the music scene. I hope that this can be a good reference and can keep people protected.https://t.co/WeIMBfBW2u

— 🍓🦔 Jay 🍓🦔 (@JayyKess) July 21, 2020

Avi Zahner-Isenberg of Avi Buffalo.

https://www.stereogum.com/2093069/avi-buffalo-accused-of-rape-by-former-bandmate-rebecca-coleman/news/

(Horrific story btw, even by the standards of this thread)

Fuck... that's horrible :(

I treasure their both lp's.

writes, “Upon my exit from the band I signed a contract not to talk negatively about Avi/Avi Buffalo, etc. I do not know if this contract still stands, but honestly, I do not give a fuck. Time’s Up.”

Out of curiosity: isn't this a dead giveaway, a confession of guilt, or is this standard practice? I can see why you'd have this contract made if your a huge star, but for Avi Buffalo?

yeah I do/did love both those albums a lot, esp the 2nd. I suspect that one in particular will sound very different to me now.

Xpost assuming that was the condition of a payout? That's the only thing that makes sense

That couid be it, ums.

Simon agreed, the second is a minor masterpiece imo. Always championed it as such. A lot of songs will now sound very different.

i have such a weird relationship with this topic. like i hate it so much, but simultaneously feel its existence to be so very necessary.

GGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

This is also very bad (and despite the URL the band is not spared), proceed with caution if the subject is close to home.

https://www.stereogum.com/2093160/the-killers-road-crew-sexual-misconduct-investigation/news/

pic.twitter.com/Cm52VYx5C1

— Merge Records (@mergerecords) July 29, 2020

I'm of two minds about the Svenonius post. On the one hand, it could be good a sign of sincerity that he admitted to being "completely inappropriate to women" without being specifically prompted by an accusation. But there's a more cynical interpretation, which is that this is just preemptive damage control, so that if someone does accuse him of something he can deny it while pointing to this statement as a mark of his credibility. I'm a fan of his, so I really hope it's the first one.

― JRN, Tuesday, July 28, 2020 12:46 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

IDK who JRN is, but on point

even moreso than most stories of this nature, it leaves me wondering less about the story itself and more about other, unnamed (and perhaps never-named) acts. just how prevalent is this sort of arrangement among major touring acts? I wonder if maybe, as more people transition out of working in road crews as their primary source of income (by COVID-related necessity), more of these stories will emerge since there will no longer be direct professional consequences. xps

maybe they're just being cautious, but Merge's statement makes me assume there's more to come on the Svenonius front and that it's bad.

FYI, most settlement agreements (of any kind) will have a confidentiality provision prohibiting either party from disclosing the terms of the settlement. In a situation like a sexual assault allegation, the agreement may also include a non-disparagement provision, meaning neither party may say anything negative about the other party.

One the things NY (and perhaps CA) have done post-#metoo is to limit the ability of parties to include these types of provisions in settlement agreements, in an effort to keep victims from being silenced.

thank you, that is helpful legal context

Avi Buffalo, such great music. :c

could tell from the albums that the guy was a sexually frustrated nut, but damn. RIP

SubPop not messing about:

After hearing about a rape accusation that was shared yesterday, Sub Pop is in the process of removing all Avi Buffalo music from our stores and digital services. We do not accept sexual abuse and assault towards anybody and we commend anyone who is able to muster up the strength to speak out and share their experiences; that's not easy. We believe and support Rebecca and hope that she is able to cope and heal.

out of curiosity, what now happens to those avi buffalo records and whatever svenonius put out with merge?

is it like, here, we're done with you but you can do what you want with the music, or sorry, we continue to hold the rights and they are now out of print forever?

i was gonna say. seems a raw deal for the (presumed) many people who played/produced/otherwise contributed on that stuff and are now having their work shitcanned

that's a good q. I can't imagine in most cases they'd be taking much of a hit in terms of income by just relinquishing the rights but I'm just guessing really

lbut I mean it's more than money, just having your work erased

like say Miles would be a candidate for cancellation but think of how many great artists and producers wrote, performed and crafted the music under the aegis of "Miles Davis"

it's a good point. no easy answer to that one. but the answer moving forward has to be more accountability among everyone involved in real time.

Feel like nearly every single one of your favorite bands are guilty of this shit. Booze, drugs, power, euphoric worship and invincibility. I’m glad this abuse is finally being called out and will hopefully be destroyed, but I also wonder how many men righteously tut-tutting would’ve behaved any differently if they were in the same circumstances.

Honestly I think that what hypothetical people might have done is an irrelevance, I'm sure there are many many professional musicians who haven't ever been sexual predators

i was just watching Last Dance the last few days and Michael Jordan was talking about his early experiences with the Bulls and said he walked into a hotel room and "there was cocaine over here, weed over there, and girls over there"

in this scenario and so many others like it, "girls" are not people, they are a category of treat. "girls" is often given as the reason xyz person started playing in a band in the first place. usually, it's "a joke" but is it? until this mentality changes, and tbh it has not, "girls" will not be considered "people". they are (we are) treats :(

usually, it's "a joke" but is it?

I don't think it's usually a joke tbh!

that's what people say if you call them out on it
it's what they always say! get a sense of humor! lighten up!

La Lechera otm