(Hypebot) — Troubled indie Bloodshot Records has been sold to Exceleration Music, the venture founded by indie music execs Glen Barros, John Burk, Charles Caldas, Amy Dietz, and Dave Hansen to invest in independent record labels.
Bloodshot has been plagued by multiple controversies in recent months.
In February 2019, Bloodshot co-owner Nan Warshaw left the label after former Bloodshot artist Lydia Loveless accused her partner, Rob Miller of sexual misconduct, alleging years of “casual predation.”
An internal audit of the label revealed that artists were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties. In recent months, many of those artists have taken to social media confirming that they had been stiffed.
Born from the Chicago indie underground rock and punk community in 1994, Bloodshot became a cornerstone of Chicago’s music scene and an Americana music powerhouse.
Artists who recorded for Bloodshot include Jon Langford, the Waco Brothers, the Old 97’s, Neko Case, the Sadies, Alejandro Escovedo, Robbie Fulks, Justin Townes Earle, the Bottle Rockets, Laura Jane Grace, Wayne Hancock, Kelly Hogan, Andre Williams, Bobby Bare Jr., Ha Ha Tonka, Luke Winslow-King, Lydia Loveless, Sarah Shook, Cory Branan, Graham Parker, Scott H. Biram, Murder by Death, William Elliott Whitmore, and more.
In a statement announcing today’s deal, Exceleration said it would assume full operational control of the label, which will include working to ensure that “all commitments to the Bloodshot artists are met.”
Who is Exceleration?
Bloodshot joins a roster of companies that Exceleration has invested in or partnered with, including the legendary Chicago blues label, Alligator Records (celebrating its 50th anniversary this year). Exceleration also acquired the jazz label Candid Records, and partnered with the Ray Charles Foundation.
“Bloodshot is a vitally important part of American music history, a genre-defining label founded on passion and vision, dedicated to bringing a unique set of artists from its musical orbit to the world,” Exceleration partner Dave Hansen commented. “It represents exactly the kind of company that fits Exceleration’s founding ethos, which is to preserve and enhance the legacies of extraordinary independent companies and artists.”
Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.
