Tiny Moving Parts Sign With Hopeless Records

I thought these guys were canceled...

 

Hopeless records, the label with 3 bands with accusations against them in the last few years(moose blood, with confidence, neck deep) decide to sign a band with an abuser who acknowledged that he was an abuser, but he was better after one week of therapy... Yeah fuck Hopeless Records

 

Wonder why they left Triple Crown. Was a little underwhelmed with this song. Swell was a solid release overall, and I feel like it just came out—this was a quick turnaround with a new record.

 

“Abuser” is pretty harsh for a situation you know nothing about. The accusation was from a new twitter account, no further details or context. He made a statement that was as good as it gets, took all the necessary procedures. What more do you want?

 

Where did he say he was "better" after a week of therapy?

 

Yeah I feel like the accusations against Dylan weren't as substantiated as the others yet they still addressed it in a respectable and responsible way. Also they are continuing to donate proceeds from this album cycle to various non profits that fight against abuse. What more do you want from them?

 

As a person who works in PR and comms measurement, it's fascinating to me that Hopeless continues to sign bands with such negative connotations. Must be a pet project of theirs because regardless of how you feel about the accusations, it doesn't make a lot of sense from a business standpoint to continue to sign these problematic bands.

 

Stoked for this. Really surprised they’re releasing a new album so soon after Swell.

 

Here’s how label people view it: even with accusations a large population of fans are not aware. A lot of fans are not “plugged in” and will never have a clue about any negative connotations. There’s a huge group of people who solely care about the music and completely turn a blind eye to this kind of stuff. Go to a show, you’ll understand what I’m talking about when you see 10 people wearing Brand New shirts.

 

Yeah when not a lot of people don't know or care, its not going to stop a label from signing certain artists. I mean the music industry is full of problematic artists. Chris Brown is headlining an Arena tour after all the shit he did, which is as disgusting as it gets.

 

Not to speak for @personalmaps, but it seems she’s saying she knows what the industry as a whole does and is disappointed when a small little scene label acts the same way.

Our music scene is supposed to be better and all these decisions seem to actively spit in the face of those thinking we should be at least trying to be better.

 

This is a legitimate question and I’m not wanting to fight and argue. What do artists have to do to make these kinds of situations right?

It really seems like Dylan/the band are doing what they can to help correct the mistakes that were made. He’s reached out and tried to have a discussion with the person who accused him. He’s going to therapy to better understand everything. They gave all their earnings from one of their tours (maybe other tours too?) to charities that deal with these kinds of things.

They’ve had tables for charities at shows and gave them time on stage to talk about their specific charities. They are donating money from each preorder to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women.

So how should a band go about this? Is there any redemption that can be had after a band runs into accusations?

 

I think they've went about it as admirably as possible. Seeing them thrown in with Moose Blood and Neck Deep is a little unfair since those bands did jack shit to acknowledge the allegations.

However, I think for some people there isn't a road to repdemotion when a band is accused of any sort of abuse towards women. Its very black and white for them which is an opinion I respect, but I don't think it is very productive when creating substantial change within the music industry or society as a whole.

 

Yes, I suppose I should clarify I mean from a PR standpoint rather than a business standpoint, especially in a subsection of the industry based on personal connection and emotional vulnerability. I think @josh- has a fair point though that they’re banking on the people who don’t care about that stuff.

This is all extremely admirable, and I do think TMP have done “better” than other bands in this situation. However, in my opinion, no one who has assaulted women should continue to have a platform that puts them in a position of power over them. I probably take the most hardline stance on this. But this is not the only job in the world and you can write and release music without it being for profit. If I went into my office and did something sexually inappropriate, I would not get to keep my job there and I certainly wouldn’t immediately get a promotion. (I.e. signing to a bigger label)

 

Sorry, I missed this post before I did my multi quote.

I do want to iterate that my “black and white” view of this is as a survivor of sexual assault. There is no world in which I will ever feel comfortable with a man who has been accused of assault holding a position of power in our scene. I am happy and thrilled that Dylan has taken great steps to get therapy and donate money, but that can never undo what was done and what he can now have greater access to do again. Being in a touring band is not a given right and doing something so terrible is absolutely grounds to lose that dream job for life.

 

I totally respect your point of view and I'm sorry if anything I said offended you. As someone who isn't a victim, I can't pretend to know how much this stuff in the scene must iinfuriate you. Personally I just saw TMP take responsibility which doesnt usually happen in this scene, but I can see why someone would completely right off any band that's had any sort of allegations of abuse.

 

This thread made me curious -- what do we mean when we express concern about a problematic musician continuing to have a platform that gives them power over fans? Would it be rectified if the musician stopped touring and only put out recorded music? What if they toured, but had no fan interaction offstage, such that there could be no interpersonal coercion? Or is the danger of power abuse actually secondary to the psychic harm of the musician simply continuing to make themselves an active presence within the musical community?

 

Cracking tune though

 

He was ok to go on tour a week after his magical therapy, says it all really

 

I guess it depends on what happened. There is a difference between writing/recording music and releasing it for gain/making a career out of it. However, it is a good point that community influence can often mean more than any physical interaction. Again, my personal stance is that if you harm another person using your influence as a public figure, you should no longer be a public figure.

I think the big issue when it comes to accountability steps and whatnot is that so often these men see it as a means to an end to getting back to doing what they love, rather than a true process of reducing harm and understanding the repercussions of their actions. They're ticking boxes and the end goal is "get back on the road, stop being seen as problematic" rather than "understand the impact i have had and the harm i have caused." If someone was really in deep therapy about a situation like this and thinking objectively with the idea of being accountable, they would know touring and being a famous musician are off the table.

When we have these conversations, (and really, this thread is going really well, I appreciate the discussions) people get so focused on what the men can do, how they can have what they once had, etc... but we're leaving out the people who have been harmed. Do you think someone assaulted by a musician could ever feel safe at a show where that person is present again? Or at any concert in general? How unsafe do victims of assault feel in general when there is a lot of conversation about how their abusers deserve multiple chances, restored careers, so on and so forth?

Survivors are often left out of the conversation in this crucial way because we live in a society that is geared towards sacrificing for the comfort and success of men. We need to try to turn the narrative in these discussions to focus less on the rehabilitation of men who fuck up and more towards making sure that the vulnerable people in our scene are comfortable and safe.

 

Hey @personalmaps, I just want you to know how much I respect and appreciate your posts. Whenever I see that you've responded to threads like these I know good stuff is happening. These are often some of the most heated, ugly conversations on this site and as a survivor you have more of a right than anybody to be heated, but your posts are so patient, humble, and informative. For what it's worth, you've given me more food for thought on this stuff than anyone else here and have helped shift my perspective quite a bit. Seriously, thank you for always moving these conversations forward.

 

i think my heart just grew three sizes, thank you. :') I try to be as patient as possible. I don't always succeed, so I'm glad people still pay attention despite that.