Cat Power Is Broke

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mickilennial
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  • #1
  • Posted: 07/11/2013 16:27
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http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertai...oke/58552/

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You know times are tough for indie musicians when even Chan Marshall—who released a Top 10 Billboard album and played sold-out concerts this year—is bankrupt. The singer known as Cat Power has announced a likely cancellation of her upcoming European tour because of financial and health problems. Before taking the stage in Minneapolis last night, Marshall broke the news on Instagram with the following message:

I MAY HAVE TO CANCEL MY EUROPEAN TOUR DUE TO BANKRUPTCY & MY HEALTH STRUGGLE WITH ANGIOEDEMA. I HAVE NOT THROWN IN ANY TOWEL, I AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT BEST I CAN DO ...

It's no shock to learn that musicians lead financially precarious lives, but the thought of an artist as big as Cat Power going broke is particularly disheartening. The album Marshall released last month was as successful as any indie product could hope to be in 2012. Sun broke the Bilboard Top 10 and made a splash in Europe, peaking at No. 6 in France. It went over just as well with the critics, with reviewers calling the album "honest, accomplished, and pretty much just beautiful." Then she did what's required of every modern day songstress wanting to put bread on her table—she went out and played, selling out a number of clubs. If that's not enough to turn a profit in indie music, then who knows how deep in the red all the artists who didn't make it onto the Juno soundtrack must be.

Marshall's bankruptcy resonates with the angle Nitsuh Abebe took in his recent New York cover story on Grizzly Bear. Abebe showed that "hitting the big time" for today's musicians means having enough to pay the bills, feed yourself, and maybe buy a few vinyl records now and then. Health insurance remains a huge concern. Some Grizzly Bear members admitted to being uninsured. Marshall hasn't publicly disclosed her insurance status or commented on whether health costs led to her bankruptcy. But let's hope she has a health plan, because she's been something of a fixture at Miami's Mt. Sinai Medical Center lately. In 2006, she checked in for alcohol addiction, and last month she was back in one of their hospital beds for undisclosed reasons. Her admission that she suffers from angioedema—a serious condition that causes swelling in the face, tongue, and throat, sometimes leading to life-threatening suffocation—is scary. With or without coverage, these kinds of persistent medical issues can put the brakes on a musician's career. Or at least force them to put music on the back-burner while working a day job for the health benefits.

Everyone knows that artists go out on a financial limb by committing to creativity as a career. But it's beginning to look like even the most successful musicians—the ones that grace magazine covers and inspire bloggers to gush out 2,000-word think-pieces—will soon struggle to eke out a living from their craft. In retrospect, Sun's closing track "Peace And Love" was full of clues about Marshall's flagging financial health. Her angry lyrics referenced the 99 percent, Wall Street, and the paltry sums artists accrue in the post-Spotify marketplace.

A hundred-thousand hits on the internet
But that don't mean shit
Even if you're legitimate.


Now we know Marshall wasn't just channeling generalized, post-recession frustration through her music. She was singing very specifically about her own diminished economic prospects.


The articles nearly a year old but a nice fodder for discussion. One of the many reasons why I put money into artists as an adult, I guess.

Thoughts?
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Polythene Pam





  • #2
  • Posted: 07/11/2013 16:40
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Drugs and alcohol are expensive so indie musicians have to take the Keith moon approach over the Keith Richards one.
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EyeKanFly
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Age: 33
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  • #3
  • Posted: 07/11/2013 16:42
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Like pretty much anything, being a musician can be boiled down to a business venture. And for smallish/indie musicians who don't have big managers or agents, life as a musician can be financially difficult.

Producing an album and going on tour cost a lot of money. I remember reading somewhere that if A Night at the Opera had failed commercially, Queen would have gone bankrupt and probably broke up.

For good or for worse, so much in this world is high risk for any reward. Being a musician definitely has its problems.

As far as Cat Power goes, I think she's starting to tour again. Also, she apparently had a some problems with mental health, in addition to physical health and finances. I only know a few of her songs, and TBH I didn't think much of them, but it's always disappointing to see people go through hardships.
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mickilennial
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  • #4
  • Posted: 07/11/2013 16:46
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As far as Cat Power goes, I think she's starting to tour again. Also, she apparently had a some problems with mental health, in addition to physical health and finances. I only know a few of her songs, and TBH I didn't think much of them, but it's always disappointing to see people go through hardships.


Crying or Very sad I do admit Cat Power has had a career that at times has been filled with inaccessible bits, which is why I'm glad Sun has shined as much as it had. I'd wager it might be her career best but then again I haven't heard her entire discography.

But I am glad she's back on her feet and trying to tour again if that is true, she's special.
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meccalecca
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Location: The Land of Enchantment
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  • #5
  • Posted: 07/11/2013 16:48
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There's a lot of unknowns that could factor into her bankruptcy. Artists much less successful than Cat Power have maintained financial security due to excellent management of their assets. I'm not saying Chan didn't manage her money well. Her early record deals may have put her in a massive hole that's basically impossible to crawl out of. But she must've made a decent amount of money modeling, touring, and from licensing. Bankruptcy also doesn't mean she's broke. You can be ultra-wealthy and file for bankruptcy. It's a very odd thing. I think the most likely scenario is that she didn't have health insurance and got slammed with a massive bill, which has not nearly as much to do with being a musician as being a freelancer or self-employed in the US.

In this country debt is a spiraling black hole that becomes nearly impossible to climb out of. I know it all too well.

I just don't understand how canceling a tour is a solution to her financial situation, when the tour is basically the best way she has of gathering revenue
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  • #6
  • Posted: 07/11/2013 17:47
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Sun was one of my favorite albums of last year.
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