Wavves Blasts Former Label in Press Release: “Nobody Knew What They Were Doing”
When Wavves announced the release of his new album You’re Welcome earlier today, Nathan Williams detailed his fallout with his former label, Warner Bros. Records, in the accompanying press release. (You’re Welcome is out May 19 via Williams’ own Ghost Ramp label.) Warner released two Wavves albums, 2013’s Afraid of Heights and 2015’s V. “I’d never come in contact with such a poorly run company in my life,” he said in the new press release. “It was anarchy. Nobody knew what they were doing.”
Williams began by detailing why the band signed with a major label in the first place:
We were just trying to go to eat at nice places in L.A. There were a few people from majors who would not stop reaching out to us. They were obsessed. They thought we had heat and they needed an edgy big rock band like they used to have in the ’90s. Me and Stephen were in our shitty apartments, Googling ‘nicest restaurants in LA’. We went to eight or nine dinners. At the end we’d say, ‘not interested’.
The press release continued:
When Warners came along and offered them a cash advance too good to refuse, they accepted while being shrewdly aware of what they were getting themselves into. “We still owned all of our shit, which was the most important part for us. For them it was a shot in the dark.” The day to day of being signed to a major, however, was unpredictable and beyond their wildest nightmares. “I figured it would run the same as [prior label] Fat Possum, just with more people. I was wrong.” By the time they were readying to release their second Warners album – 2015′s V – shots were fired. Williams released single “Way Too Much” on Soundcloud before the label had approved it, the label forgot to sign off on the artwork and, in the end, Wavves felt swept under the rug. Ultimately it felt like a career step backwards.
Williams elaborated:
I’d never come in contact with such a poorly run company in my life. It was anarchy. Nobody knew what they were doing. Turnover rate was like an American Apparel. It was really all cons—unless you’re a cash cow. For everyone else, major labels can’t help you. Maybe at one time they could, but that time is dead.
The press release notes that it was Williams’ experience with Warner that inspired him to focus on Ghost Ramp. “I figured if these idiots could get by, we could do it a hundred times better.”
Williams has been public about his distaste for Warner Bros. in the past. After putting out “Way Too Much,” he tweeted, “you dont scare me. im not scared of getting dropped or sued by u so what do u have?” He also pleaded, “heres my art let me release my record [Warner Bros.]” (Both tweets have been deleted.) In a career retrospective, he mused, “I think I probably don’t have a ton of fans at Warner Bros. at this point.”
Pitchfork has reached out to Warner Bros.’ representatives for comment.
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