This was posted on the GaragePunk Hideout yesterday:
APPEAL FOR FUNDS
Hello, this might be a bit of a strange e-mail. I have treated bands very fairly since I’ve started Voodoo Rhythm and have given them their records for cost price so that they could make a solid profit when selling their records on tour (we all know payouts are lousy nowadays). I did approach the SUISA (Copyright Company, musicians’ union) and informed them of the nature of my agreement with the bands.
Unfortunately I never put it in writing.
Now that is exactly the problem: The SUISA demands payback of a total of 42,500 Swiss Franks (roughly $38,000 US). Basically they want money for productions that had long been settled. The bitter irony is that bands of course prefer free copies of their album, yet the SUISA is oblivious to this fact and demand the money within 30 days. If we cannot meet their demands we might have to shut down business, since it is completely impossible for us to raise that kind of money. Therefore we kindly ask for your support. Even if we can pay we will not be able to offer the bands the same deal as before, in spite of the fact that they would much rather get free copies from us as opposed to SUISA money (especially American bands since they don’t get any SUISA money at all).
We hope you can help us. We don’t want to quit, we want to resume or work and our journey. Please transfer funds to the following account and forward this message.
Sincerely,
Reverend Beat-Man
Voodoo Rhythm Records
Voodoo Rhythm is not only one of the few remaining truly KICK-ASS trash-punk-blues-rock’n'roll labels left on the planet, but I also consider Beat-Man a personal friend of mine, so please, if you can help out, do so. Send PayPal payments to info (at) voodoorhythm (dot) com. Thanks!
3 comments ↓
[...] The self proclaimed “King of Apartment Wrestling” and long time cohort of King Khan is asking for donations to save his record label. Reverend Beat Man has been releasing records since the 1990’s, but It seems in the current global climate its becoming more and more of a reality that It’s too damn difficult to stay afloat. Indie labels such as his are struggling. His plea can be read here [...]
dear friends & supporters
First of all i’d like to thank all of you for your support.
we are overwhelmed and humbled by this wave of solidarity.
Here’s the lowdown:
The suisa has agreed to re-evaluate their demands based
on papers we have handed relating to their assessment basis.
This will result in much needed relief and it will give us additonal
time to solve the problems at hand.
We’ll keep you posted.
Until then we shall remain with the utmost respect and full of gratitude for your relentless support.
[...] one came out not too long ago on Voodoo Rhythm, a label that hit a bit of financial trouble as of late. The band is the Movie Star Junkies, a great broken blues-punk combo from Turin, Italy, [...]
Leave a Comment