In the wake of this week’s allegations, Ryan Adams‘ upcoming album, Big Colors, is being “put on hold,” sources close to the situation told Variety.
In The New York Times exposé published on Wednesday, seven women accuse Adams of wielding his music industry clout to emotionally abuse and sexually manipulate them. The report cites seven different women, including Adams’ ex-wife Mandy Moore, rising artist Phoebe Bridgers, and more, and describes a pattern in which offers of career assistance repeatedly turned into sexual advances and romantic relationships became emotionally abusive. The report also details a domineering and sexually inappropriate correspondence Adams allegedly had with an underage girl over a 9-month span.
Big Colors was set for release on April 19th, but retailers began to report on Thursday evening that the album was pulled from release schedules by Universal Music Group, the parent company of Adams’ own label, Pax-Am, which has a distribution deal with Blue Note Records. Pax-Am has also deleted the Big Colors pre-order pages on its own website. Big Colors was originally set to be Adams’ first of three albums in 2019, though the fate of that plan now appears to be uncertain.
Beyond the album, three different companies with whom Ryan Adams was attached for endorsement deals have officially severed ties with the artist. Included in this list is Benson Amps, who announced a Ryan Adams signature model amp at last year’s NAMM convention. Christopher Benson, the company’s principal, said in a statement. “We are saddened and surprised by the recent allegations against Mr. Ryan Adams as documented in the New York Times. … We have decided to suspend our relationship with Mr. Adams at this moment, and will no longer move forward with the development of the Ryan Adams signature model. We have no further comment at this time.”
The presidents of JHS Pedals and Walrus Audio, which both had Ryan Adams signature products on the market when the story broke, both issued similar statements pulling their Adams products. As JHS Pedals president Josh Scott noted, “Because of my deep concern over this situation, I am ceasing all collaboration with Ryan and have discontinued the VCR Ryan Adams Signature Pedal. We have a remaining stock of VCR pedals and are making future plans to fully rebrand and sell this inventory with a portion of the sale going towards the fight against sexual abuse and misconduct.”
In addition to the business partnership fallout, The New York Times reported Thursday that the F.B.I. is now looking into “whether the singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, 44, committed a crime by engaging in sexually explicit communications with an underage fan.” Adams, through his lawyer, Andrew B. Brettler, has denied that he “ever engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage.”
The post Ryan Adams’ New Album “Put On Hold,” FBI Opens Inquiry Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations appeared first on L4LM.
