Streetlight Manifesto have posted an update regarding their continuing legal problems with their label, Victory Records. Their new album, The Hands that Theive, has been released, but pre-orders have still not shipped, as the label is refusing to send copies of it to the band, for those of you living under a rock. The band has also been forced to cancel the Toh Kay companion album. This statement regards primarily the pre-orders that haven’t shipped.
For the full update on what’s going on, click here.
The Hands that Thieve was released April 30th, 2013 via Victory Records, though most are waiting for it to become available from the RISC Store, run by the band. Victory Records claims that the Toh Kay album would cannibalize sales of the Streetlight version, but it seems the label has done that to themselves, doesn’t it?
Hey guys
So in the interest of trying to get this wrapped up as quickly and as fairly to everyone as possible, we put together a FAQ to answer the most common questions we’ve been getting. If you still have a question or concern, please feel free to call us at (213) 742-8837 or email us atstore@riscmail.com. Please keep in mind though, we are and will be swamped with calls and emails, so if you can read the following first, that’d be incredible. Once again, thank you so much for your support and patience. You guys have been an endless stream of love and inspiration through all of this. Thank you.
FAQ
Q: Why do I not have my record yet? I totally want it.
A: Simple – Victory Records has refused to send us any of Streetlight’s new album. Without that – we can not send out pre-orders. Classy move. Read on for more information about your order.
Q: I wanted to hear the Toh Kay record. The music video – before Victory took it down – was beautiful and so was the song. My gosh. What happened?
A: Victory had given Streetlight a choice: either completely kill the Toh Kay record (their absurd reasoning was that its sale would “cannibalize” Streetlight sales, ha!) or hand it over to them so they can release it and exclusively profit from it. Streetlight has experienced and documented years of Victory not paying royalties while continuously profiting from their music, so it was a no-brainer. We had to cancel the record, no matter how much we all loved it and how hard the guys worked on it. That music video, by the way, is also “illegal”. So if you saw it – your eyes are criminals.
Q: It’s been a while since I ordered my bundle – and I need to change my address. How do i do that?
A: No problem. Send an email with the subject being “Address change” to Store@Riscmail.com – and in the email just put the new address you’d like your order to go to.
Q: I ordered a bundle that was supposed to have the Toh Kay record in it. Since it was cancelled by Victory – what is going to happen to my order?
A: We will ship the rest of the bundle and refund you the value of the record in the bundle (OR, you can choose option two, below). When coming up with the bundle prices, $5 of the price was allotted to the Toh Kay album. So we’ll be refunding you $5 and sending out the rest of your bundle. If we don’t receive the Streetlight CDs from Victory soon, we will also refund you for that missing cd.
OPTION 2:
So, instead of requesting a refund, we ask that you consider the following: We will send you everything in your order, minus the Toh Kay album (naturally) and (unless we receive our shipment of Streetlight CDs very soon) the SM CD. In the next few months, when the dust settles and all this melodrama is over with, we will send you… something extra. We haven’t quite figured out this consolation prize just yet, but we’re thinking along the lines of a super limited edition, signed screen printed piece of artwork by Tomas or something. It’ll be a rarity and something you can put on your wall to say “I helped a band I love fight an evil record label.” All this standing up for themselves and fighting the good fight has cost Streetlight thousands in lawyer and legal fees. Unfortunately for all of us, Victory’s legal team is partially funded by Streetlight’s own music (it’s ridiculous really), so selling merch via the oline store and at shows is the only way Streetlight can afford to fight the bastards.
IMPORTANT: Please choose whether you want your money refunded or if you want the special consolation gift/donation option by going here:http://www.riscstore.com/pages/the-hand-that-thieves-order-refund-page
Q: What about my vinyl order?
A: Unfortunately – we can’t legally press any Toh Kay vinyl now, and with Victory not selling us any SM items – there’s no way we’re going to be able to fulfill the vinyl orders. Those will be cancelled and refunded. Sorry. Sucks.
Q: I want my money back. This is stupid.
A: Ok. That’s fine. Send an email to store@riscmail.com with your full name / your paypal account name and order number. We appreciate your order in the first place and understand your frustration. This is our job and we have to deal with this every waking moment of the day – we’re beyond frustration – we can actually smell colors at this point. Everything smells awful.
Q: Why is this even happening? Is there a reason bad things happen to good people?
A: That’s a great question. If you find out – can you let us know? Thanks.
Q: The Streetlight record leaked online – I already ordered it through you – how should I feel inside about downloading it?
A: We can’t tell you how or where to download it – but if you already paid for it, and it’s being withheld from you by the band’s own record label – well, take that how you will.
Q: Who is the nice gentleman who has answered all the calls / emails for the RISC Store – is he an angel, and if so – why do angels have lisps all the sudden?
A: My name is Dave and I appreciate everyones support and understanding with the hassle and headache this has been and, I’m sure, will continue to be.
Q: This whole situation makes me hate the music industry and I now understand why it – as a business entity – is failing across the board.
A: Yeah. I hear ya. I just downloaded Dredd 3D – wanna watch it with me?