On the morning of October 1, in a surprising move that we reported soon after it happened, Death Grips put up their newest album, No Love Deep Web, for streaming and free download. Why was that surprising? Well, they had signed a contract with Epic/Columbia to release two albums this year, and No Love Deep Web was supposed to be the second one.
Releasing it for free download didn’t seem like something your average big-name record label would approve. But Death Grips apparently wasn’t happy with the label’s decision to postpone release of the album until sometime in 2013, so they just self-released it anyway. At the time this happened, I wondered whether Death Grips really had given a big-time FUCK YOU to Epic, or instead had just launched a really clever marketing campaign that the label might have even known about and condoned.
Well, we got our answer to that question not long ago, because Death Grips posted on their Facebook page an image of a confidential e-mail dated October 1 from Epic’s chief in-house corporate counsel to the man who appears to be Death Grips’ manager, accusing the band of breaching their contract and demanding that the free download be stopped and that masters of No Love Deep Web be turned over to Epic immediately. To get a better look at the e-mail, click on the image above and you’ll see a bigger copy.
As we know, Epic’s demands weren’t met. So what are we to make of this? And where does this scuffle stand now?
First of all, the e-mail is addressed to Peter Katsis. According to this article (and others I found), Peter Katsis is a big-time music manager. Unless this e-mail was completely fabricated — and it sure looks authentic — it stands to reason that Katsis has been representing Death Grips. He may even have been involved in negotiating the contract with Epic.
Second, it appears from the e-mail that Epic doesn’t think Death Grips’ self-release of the album was consistent with the band’s contractual obligations — which isn’t shocking in the least. It further appears that the contract gave Epic ownership of the music (or at least that’s Epic’s view of the agreement).
What’s unclear from the e-mail is whether Epic had already paid advances to the band. The line in the e-mail which says that Epic will not pay the band for an album that thousands of people had already downloaded suggests that they didn’t pay an advance. If they had, I’m sure I’d be just as pissed as Epic if the band had then gone ahead and given the album away after taking my money.
And finally, it appears that Epic expects the band to record another album in order to fulfill its contract — an album that Epic can actually sell. Whether Death Grips will do that for Epic remains to be seen.
As for where this stands now, I don’t know. Epic could certainly sue the band for breach of contract and copyright infringement to recover damages for the profits it would have made from sale of the music that it claims it owns. But I have a feeling that the band aren’t exactly flush with cash — I mean, at least they didn’t make any money off the download of No Love Deep Web that Epic could recover.
Also, suing the band probably would give Epic a PR black eye, too — even if they’re correct that Death Grips intentionally violated a contract that they voluntarily signed.
So it’s unclear where this is headed. I’m sure Death Grips would love to get out of the contract with Epic. I’m sure Epic would still like to make money off of Death Grips’ music. But there’s not exactly a lot of love and trust in this relationship now.
Death Grips, of course, is now an even bigger hero to fans who think sending a big FUCK YOU to mainstream corporate record labels is cool. And to people who think even underground artists like Death Grips ought to honor their contractual promises, it’s not so cool.
But the music is still the music. I still like it. And I can’t help but find this pissing match entertaining. And what do you think?
12 Responses to “DEATH GRIPS BLOWS THE COVER OFF ITS PISSING MATCH WITH EPIC RECORDS”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I’d be inclined to say that a vice president (especially when responsible for Legal Affairs) should be able to produce an e-mail without spelling and typing errors. Also, if it is correct that Epic have signed a contract to release two albums *this year*, they might actually be the ones breaching contract by postponing release to 2013. Without the full legal woolliness it’s hard to decide.
I strongly feel that people should honour the contracts they sign; if this goes at personal loss, they’ve been fools for signing it without appropriate clauses.
That said, it’s always very entertaining to read a legal mud fight :). -1 for the Norton sign top-right, though; people should avoid viruses (particularly those claiming to be AV applications).
Interesting point about whether Epic itself has some responsibility for not releasing the album this year, and of course you’re right that it’s hard to decide who’s right and who’s wrong without seeing the contract itself. Maybe Death Grips will leak that, too. 🙂
And yeah, apart from Epic being undoubtedly even more pissed that DG publicized this e-mail, the fact that the e-mail has typos in it is like salt in the wound.
What do you suggest for AV. I am not tech savvy in the slightest. I just surf the interwebs for br00tal slams and dead horsie porn at my leisure. Whatever is easiest i’m all ears.
Since you’re not tech savvy, Avira (any free version should do) is a decent choice. Be sure to be watchful for undesired add-ons (usually opt-out on installing the program). In addition, a regular sweep with MalwareBytes’ Anti-Malware (free version) is a good idea, depending on how exotic the sites you visit are ;). HTH.
This will certainly be fun to watch unfold. It’s issues like these that perpetuate my fear for big labels. I’m too much of a control freak to let a big, impersonal company handle the art we delicately create.
BUT they signed a contract. Whether they like this contract or not became irrelevant the moment they signed their names. A breach of contract is a breach of trust. A broken promise. A theft and a lie, if you will. You simply can’t do business with somebody if they can’t be kept to their word. I’m sure it’s very fashionable to tell “big biz” to eff off, but it’s one of those things that certainly doesn’t help an already ailing industry.
When I first saw that Death Grips had signed with Epic, it seemed like a very odd thing for DG to do. They were a DIY group with an underground, even revolutionary, mentality, yet they signed with a big mainstream label rather than an indie that would have given the band a lot of control over their music and would have been more likely to see eye-to-eye with them on what they wanted to do.
The only reasons I could think of for doing what DG did was a desire not only to get a big promotional push but also to have a handsome pay day. If that’s right, I don’t blame them for wanting to make some decent money off their art, but as you observed, that obviously comes at a price when you get in bed with someone like Epic. I guess DG has reconsidered their decision . . . but only after signing a contract that they’re now stuck with, unless they can get out of it some way.
They ran out of ideas so they pulled out the old riot thing. Meh album sucks, nobody would buy it anyway, apart from the glitch-hop-angry-screaming-black-guy they have nothing.
THEY’RE SO EDGY! EVEN A DICK ON THE COVER, IM TELLING MY FRIEND JOHNNY WE WILL LISTEN TO THIS EPIC PIECE, BETWEEN PE AND SCIENCE CLASS! WOOHOOW!
>suing the band probably would give Epic a PR black eye
what?
Big record label suing its own artists, especially ones who have no money, just seems like something that would be frowned upon by other artists and by fans. It would be different if DG had gone off and sold the album themselves instead of giving it away. But I don’t know. Maybe Epic will decide they need to make an example, so other artists don’t do such things.
Frowned like the napster-tallica thing? I don’t think so, but DG would get a ton of publicity and become more edgy that marilyn manson(or fred durst) in his best days(or worst).
This screams of a publicity stunt.
I guess it could be, but if so, it’s one of the most ingeniously orchestrated stunts I can remember. If this does turn out to be a stunt, I suspect it will trash Death Grips’ standing with their fan base, permanently.