Top Shelf Records logo.
Massachusetts-based indie rock label Topshelf Records has launched a fundraiser to help deal with the fallout from its distributor, Awesome Distro, declaring bankruptcy.
In a statement published on Saturday, Topshelf founder Kevin Duquette claimed the bankruptcy of Awesome Distro took the label by surprise. The label is owed "tens of thousands in revenue," Duquette says, and is unable to currently fulfill orders or send shipments of records to touring artists.
"The property management company [Awesome Distro] leased from is withholding access to our inventory, treating it as collateral," Duquette writes, "and citing that their agreement with Awesome creates legal ground for seizing everything in the building."
Because money from sales was held by Awesome Distro, any refund for sales made during the bankruptcy can only come from Topshelf Records – it's money that the label "never received, and likely never will."
The Kickstarter campaign has tiered donation rewards including rare vinyl, CDs, and merchandise. Money raised from the Kickstarter campaign will go to legal expenses, refund processing, redirecting incoming inventory shipments, and more, including a reimaging of the label's distribution system. "We see this as an opportunity to re-take control and autonomy over physical aspects of the label once again," Duquette says in the campaign's extended statement, but also to potentially go so much farther than that if the opportunity presents itself."
Donate to the fundraiser here and read the summarized statement below.
the mail order fulfillment company we partnered with, Awesome Distro, has gone bankrupt.
they have abruptly shut down, owing us tens of thousands of dollars in revenue and forcing us to relocate 17 years worth of inventory immediately with no advance notice.
they laid off their entire staff without notifying us, leaving us with no immediate way of shipping out orders or sending records to our artists on tour.
the property management company they leased from is withholding access to our inventory, treating it as collateral, and citing that their agreement with Awesome creates legal ground for seizing everything in the building.
we've launched a a Kickstarter campaign as a preemptive measure to help aid with ongoing efforts to fund a legal defense, and to pay for mounting expenses associated with this disruption.
our business is still operating. we expect we can endure this and not have to lay off any staff, continue paying out artist royalties, cover our expenses, etc. but we have started this campaign because:
we don’t know if we’re vastly overestimating how dire this is.
we don’t know if we’re immensely underestimating how dire this is.
we don’t know more than we know at this stage, but we know we need help.