It’s hard to think of a band that has soared and then plummeted as quickly as PWR BTTM. Last week, the gender-nonconforming punk duo of singer-guitarist Ben Hopkins and drummer-singer Liv Bruce saw sudden acclaim -- breathless reviews of its second album, Pageant, and profiles in The New York Times and other major media outlets -- turn to scorched earth when a May 11 Facebook post accusing Hopkins of a history of sexual assault and making “unwanted advances on minors” and a May 12 Jezebel story quoting another alleged victim sparked a massive backlash against the group.
According to music attorney Steve Gordon, most recording and management contracts contain morals clauses that can trigger the contract’s termination “if the performer does something indecent or obscene.” And within 48 hours of the second story, PWR BTTM lost its label deal, album distribution, management and its backing and opening bands for what was shaping up to be a largely sold-out summer tour. At press time, a number of those concert dates had been canceled, and PWR BTTM’s music -- which had been generating an average of 414,000 on-demand streams per week in the eight weeks leading up to the May 12 release of Pageant, according to Nielsen Music -- had been removed from all retailers and streaming services, effectively erasing its catalog entirely.
As Hopkins and Bruce huddled with their PR firm Shore Fire Media to craft a second response to the accusations (at press time, it had yet to be issued), Billboard asked industry veterans for their appraisal of PWR BTTM’s predicament. All but one spoke on the condition of anonymity, and virtually everyone expressed shock at the speed with which PWR BTTM lost the industry’s support, given that no charges have been filed and that one of the accusers was anonymous. “It’s a sign of our society right now, in terms of people rushing to judgment,” says one longtime veteran of the indie scene who has experience working with artists in crisis.
The source added, however, that PWR BTTM’s righteous embrace of queer culture -- the band insisted that venues it played provide gender-neutral bathrooms so transgender and gender-nonconforming fans felt safe -- looked grossly hypocritical in light of the predatory allegations against Hopkins. “The way they were marketing [their shows] as a safe place -- that certainly cuts into it,” says the indie source.
A veteran publicist also criticized the band’s initial attempt at damage control, in which Hopkins neither apologized nor denied the allegations and the band offered a mediator-monitored email address for alleged survivors. “If you didn’t do it, you can’t say anything, and [if you did], the only thing that works is ‘I’m sorry, and I’m getting help.’”
A longtime booking agent predicts “a difficult road ahead for the act,” adding that Hopkins’ bandmate Bruce may have to decide that “there is only room for one in the lifeboat.”
This article originally appeared in the May 27 issue of Billboard.