A brand new report from Enterprise Insider (titled How wealthy musicians billed American taxpayers for luxurious motels, procuring sprees, and million-dollar bonuses) has known as out a number of acts throughout a number of genres, together with Alice in Chains and Shinedown, scrutinizing pandemic reduction payouts.
In a few of the different instances highlighted within the report, there have been clear misuse of pandemic funds for private profit.
As an example, the investigation uncovered that rapper Lil’ Wayne spent $1.3 million of his $8.9 million grant to cowl personal jet flights, whereas spending one other $460,000 on garments and equipment from excessive finish clothes labels. The report additionally notes pop star Chris Brown spent $80,000 on a birthday celebration, whereas claiming $5.1 million of his firm’s $10 million grant for himself.
In different instances, corresponding to with Shinedown and Alice in Chains, the report didn’t reveal any such luxurious extravagances, but it surely does point out how each bands had members taking million dollar-plus sums of the grant cash for themselves.
The place the Grant Cash Got here From
The cash that was doled out to musicians got here from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant that was signed into legislation in the course of the Trump administration. In accordance with Enterprise Insider, this system was designed to assist unbiased venues and humanities teams who had been struggling in the course of the pandemic.
With a compelled break from touring, bands had been left with out their main livelihood. However quickly, a few of these answerable for band funds discovered that even premiere, massive identify music acts may very well be eligible for grant cash by loan-out corporations.
There have been eligibility necessities that needed to be met. Per the report, grantees may obtain as much as $10 million to spend on “extraordinary or needed” bills for his or her enterprise. So as to take action, they needed to make a good-faith assertion to the Small Enterprise Administration that the grant was essential to assist the loan-out firm’s “ongoing operations” and present that income had dropped by a minimum of 25 p.c between one quarter in 2019 and the identical quarter in 2020.
The Small Enterprise Administration claims they adopted the legislation with the grant disbursements. The legislation directed the group to look at a band’s income, not their belongings. So so long as their loan-out firm may present income had declined, the bands may very well be eligible.
The place Did Alice in Chains’ Grant Cash Go?
Per the Enterprise Insider report, Alice in Chains singer-guitarist Jerry Cantrell allegedly acquired $1.4 million as an “SVOG distribution” per information from a March 23, 2022 transaction. Fellow founding drummer Sean Kinney additionally acquired the identical quantity, whereas bassist Mike Inez, who joined the band later of their profession, acquired $682.000.
That whole quantities to $3.4 million of the $4.1 million the band reportedly acquired within the grant.
The band’s AIC Leisure that’s run by the three longtime members needed to make their case that the cash was “needed.”
However the report notes {that a} month earlier than they took their grant funds, the group recorded a $48 million earnings by promoting the rights to their music catalog. Additionally they reportedly made tons of of 1000’s of {dollars} extra from merchandise gross sales and different distributions in 2022.
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The report does credit score the band with spending a few of the cash to pay their employees, whereas tons of of 1000’s went to sound tools rental companies, videographers and managers.
In a tragic a part of the report, it is famous that the band’s guitar tech and photographer Scott Dachroeden had been recognized with most cancers in late 2022. However because the band didn’t use the grant cash on advantages, Dachroeden was with out medical health insurance. The group arrange a GoFundMe to assist with the prices and later linked him with a charity that helps with medical payments, however the tech died not lengthy after his prognosis.
Loudwire reached out to representatives for Alice in Chains for remark. As of press time, no response has been acquired.
The place Did Shinedown’s Grant Cash Go?
Very similar to Alice in Chains, the Enterprise Insider report claims that three of Shinedown’s 4 members took a majority of the grant cash.
Of the $8.3 million grant, the report says that a minimum of $2.5 million went to the three members, whereas all 4 members of the band acquired an extra $100,000 every from the $1.2 million that was allotted for payroll.
The breakdown notes that 15 touring manufacturing staff acquired a mixed $650,000 of the grant cash, which is lower than any single member of the band acquired. That is roughly $43,000 per employee.
Loudwire reached out to representatives for Shinedown for remark. As of press time, no response has been acquired.
The complete Enterprise Insider report that additionally names such acts as Steve Aoki, Marshmello and Rae Sremmurd may be learn in full right here.
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