After a series of troubling accusations and ownership battles regarding Bloodshot Records, Exceleration Music is acquiring the company. According to Pitchfork, co-founder Rob Miller recently announced that he would “no longer be part of the record label,” leaving the website “permanently closed.”
The independent record label has long supported forms of alternative country, representing artists such as the Waco Brothers, Jon Langford and Sarah Shook & the Disarmers. They’ve hosted events such as the annual Yard Dog party and released a compilation album titled Bloodshot Six Pack To Go: Working Songs For The Drinking Class in 2015.
In February 2019, co-founder Nan Warshaw stepped down from the label after singer-songwriter Lydia Loveless accused Warshaw’s partner, Mark Panick, of alleged sexual misconduct. Last year, Warshaw faced allegations of unpaid royalties and the staff claimed she was trying to sell the label. These controversies continued throughout the year, to the point that even last week, the record label was set to shut down entirely. The two co-founders came to a mutual decision to hand the label to Exceleration, an investment fund that has also acquired the jazz label Candid Records and partnered with Alligator Records. Hopefully, with this new agreement, the interest of the artists will remain protected.
“Bloodshot was my life for more than 25 years,” Warshaw said in a statement about the recent change. “Throughout this time, I fought to ensure that every artist would be guaranteed their compensation in full. There were various options considered to allow Bloodshot Records to continue without me, including selling my half to my co-founder, but we ultimately made a mutual decision to sell to Exceleration Music.”
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