Mark Linkous Estate Blocks Sparklehorse Charity Tribute Album, Supporters Won’t Get Money Back

In 2013, Box of Stars, a non-profit focused on increasing awareness about mental health, launched an Indiegogo campaign to organize and release Last Box of Sparklers, a Sparklehorse/Mark Linkous tribute album. The planned album was set to feature contributions from the Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr., Mercury Rev, Mark Lanegan, Califone, the Joy Formidable, Phantogram, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, and more. It raised over $46,000. Now, the project has been canceled, and organizers have told those that donated that they won’t be getting their money back.

Box of Stars sent out a letter to those who’d backed the project. “The estate of Mark Linkous decided that it will not support the project and has threatened legal action if we continue,” it reads. “Our silence on this matter has been neither willing nor willful, and it has been extraordinarily difficult to remain quiet while receiving the comments and reading the speculations that have understandably arisen in the past several weeks. For a variety of reasons, we believe it best not to release the album without the support of the Linkous estate.”

The letter also states that because all of the collected funds were spent on the production of the album, those who contributed won’t be getting their money back. “So, what can we do?” they write. “We can and will offer future projects to you for your support, with perks over and above the value of each original individual contribution.”

Songs from the Flaming Lips and the Joy Formidable are still up on the Box of Stars Soundcloud.

Pitchfork has reached out to Box of Stars for comment.

Comments are closed.