Money Grabbing Tactics Of Bands And Labels.
Posts: 38
Visited by: 91 users
Original post
Posted by Marcel Hubregtse, 30.12.2007 - 18:07
"12/24/07
When international cult doom metal act YOB (Eugene, OR) broke up, singer/guitarist/visionary Mike S created Middian from YOB's ashes. Before the name was chosen, a careful online search was done, proving that no other active unit had the same name. The band worked hard, released the highly acclaimed album Age Eternal on Metal Blade Records, and toured the US.
In the Fall of 2007, Middian, their label, their booking agent, and a peripherally related online merchandise company were sent cease and desist orders from a seemingly defunct nu-metal band from Milwaukee, WI called Midian of Milwaukee LLC. At first, this seemed like a ludicrous joke. However, the Midian with one "D" were serious about defending their name, even though they hadn't released any proper albums or played outside of Wisconsin, and hadn't updated their website in several years - making the validity of their trademark highly questionable. At first Middian sought an agreement to co-exist peacefully. But Midian of Milwaukie LLC didn't want to co-exist (to the extent they even existed). With increased legal threats came the sad reality that it's very expensive to fight these kinds of lawsuits, even when the law and the facts are on your side. So Middian from Eugene agreed to give up their name, stop selling all merchandise that bore the mark, and peacefully co-exist under a new name.
Unfortunately, Midian of Milwaukee were not satisfied with a peaceful agreement. Neither were they satisfied when Middian's label Metal Blade dropped them in an effort to avoid legal hassle and expense. No, Midian of Milwaukee were after money--and a large settlement at that (we're talking tens of thousands...). There's a big problem though. Middian don't have that kind of money. They are three humble artists from Eugene, OR that write twenty-minute long doom metal epics that will never be played on the radio. Mike S has three children that he's supporting. Neither do the other members of the band have anything but cheap rent and low-paying jobs in a small town.
Given the choice of giving up to these unreasonable demands, or fighting on their own, Middian, their lawyer, and Nanotear Booking have decided to go to court and win this battle. It's a clear case of greed that must be squashed. But it will not come cheaply. That's why your donations are so desperately needed. Any support you can offer will go towards Middian's legal fund via this paypal account found at http://middian.org/donate
Please help at whatever level you can. You have our most humble gratitude, and will share in our victory over this tragic nonsense.
Kindest regards,
Middian and Nanotear"
Fucking hell Jesus H. Christ what the fuck is this world coming to. Read the message below and weep.
Bands such as the single D Midian are just in it for the money. And if they really wanted to get their name out why didn't they record anything? Why didn't go on a nation wide tour? Why haven't they updated their website in years.
I say fuck 'em, fuck 'em sidewyas, shun them, ignore 'em.
And the bit of integrity Metal Blade might still have had has surely gone down the drain now. Dropping a band to avoid legal hassles, bunch of pussy cowards they are. Weren't labels there to support their acts? Apparently not.
This in a year Metal Blade was gaining a bit of support from the true metal community again by re-releasing great classic stuff and signing Hail Of Bullets. And now they pull a chicken cowardy run on us.
I say a big middle finger to both Midian (the money grabbing assholes) and Metal Blade (what the fuck happenend to supporting your bands?)
| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10094  |
The guy says they won the suit, he's gonna reform YOB and the other guys are either taking five or in Wolves in the Throne Room http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=103650 poor Midian, the guys thought they'd grab a bit of cash real quick and easy  guess they got ass-busted in the end
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287  |
Written by Bas on 01.06.2009 at 12:33 it was one of the "similar" links that showed up at the bottom of another thread i was visiting. it just reminded of the whole sordid ordeal and i was interested in the outcome. from what i've read, the outcome seemed favorable to Middian - i have not found anything specific, but the band's message made it seem that they found the outcome satisfactory, but came at such a price in dollars and stress that it basically still managed to kill the band. (not the first band to be torn apart by a protracted legal battle, a "distribution of harmful matter to minors" for inserting a H.R. Giger painting into one of their albums killed The Dead Kennedys as well.)
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718  |
Written by BitterCOld on 01.06.2009 at 22:10 I thought internal disputes killed the Dead Kennedys? I know theres legal battles between Biafra and East Bay Ray that seem to be ongoing... As for Middian, well it seems some members went back to YOB and another member joined Wolves In The Throne Room according to their rarely updated myspace (which strangely enough bears the title "We're fucking dead")
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287 |
Written by Doc G. on 02.06.2009 at 00:53 It was the stress of the trial, as far as i recall, that lead to the break-up of the band. they had already broken up by the time their last album, Bedtime For Democracy was released. apparently, at least per the Wiki-Gods, the evolution of the music scene and 'dumbing down' of the hardcore crowd was also a factor... The ongoing legal issues have nothing to do with the original ones, and more stem from song rights. The remaining band members accuse Jello of withholding revnue from them in regards to royalty splits. It's gone back and forth, with the band getting former "Courtship of Eddie's Father" child actor Brandon Cruz to do the vocals. At the time Jello refered to them as the "World's Greediest Karaoke Band" ... while i'm not picking a side in this sad orderal, i do think that shot on his part was pretty funny, and the remaining band's subsequent release entitled Milking the Sacred Cow is pretty amusingly named as well. Back to Middian, i hadn't checked up on their myspace, but had heard/read about YOB reformation and one of the members off to WITTR. Still a really sad affair.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Throne Dweller Posts: 159  |
If that happened to me, and I'd met the bastards trying to sue me; I'd personally kill them before the court hearing. People like that have no right to live.
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| king_matt Posts: 449  |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Having the word Vampire in your band name.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| ToMegaTherion Posts: 718  |
Lol, you get some funny shit out there. I guess its easier than fighting a lawsuit though.
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