Since the resignation of Life or Death’s CEO, Heathcliff Berru, for sexual misconduct, the company now wants to try and take a new step in a different direction. the Life or Death company represented artists such as: Wavves, DIIV, Speedy Ortiz, Beach Fossils, Killer Mike, and Kelela.
Following the scandal that folded the company in two, the former president, Nick Dierl and senior publicist Duncan Will, have spoken about a new venture, Liberal Arts. Liberal Arts will be composed of some of the same employees from the original Life or Death PR and Management lineup, but will not account for Berru, as any business dealings with Berru have been cut off. Some of the Life or Death employees that will join Liberal Arts includes Bradley Bledsoe, Emily Mullen, and Linda Valenziano. The company will represent old clients such as Killer Mike and Wet, along with offering new clients a chance to get their image and style out to the public. Both Dierl and Will have stated that Berru was known throughout the company to abuse alcohol and drugs, but the sexual misconduct charge was a surprise to everyone.
One week ago, Dirty Projector’s Amber Coffman and musician Bethany Cosentino, were among the few people to accuse founder Heathcliff Berru of sexual misconduct. Berru has apologized for tarnishing the reputation of Life or Death. Will still feels disgusted that this could happen to Life or Death and has since decided to never look back. Duncan Will’s entire interview with Billboard stresses his attempts to recreate from the ashes and build a more stronger foundation as a publicist for artists that clearly stresses the need to help people get their musical persona out into the world and create a demand for that artist’s music. “It’s an amazing opportunity to start our own company, but I feel conflicted having it born out of these events. We needed to take steps, and within our [new] company,” says Duncan Will about Liberal Arts, “We put our female coworkers in positions of leadership that involves them fully in all decision-making processes.”
Liberal Arts will be receiving help from other publicists such as Knitting Factory Entertainment and Figure Eight Publicity in their startup process.
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