American singer-songwriter Tessa Violet (@tessaviolet) went on TikTok to allege that an unnamed merch company stole all the merchandise profits from her tour, sparking a wave of similar claims from other artists.
In the video, which was posted on Jan. 16, Violet recounted the ordeal, stating, “My merch company stole all the profits from my tour. Storytime.” The video has so far accumulated over 519,000 views on the video-sharing platform.
“Something that was unusual to me, maybe this is standard, it used to be that when you went on tour, you would buy your merch from the merch company, and then you would sell it,” Violet said. According to her, this direct income is crucial, as it helps cover the substantial costs of touring.
However, Violet’s merch company insisted on a different business model, where all card payments at the merch booth would go directly to them. The company would then pay the artist the profit from these sales.
After her tour ended, the company reportedly “ghosted her,” leaving her without any of the merchandise earnings. “Anyway, after tour is done, they ghost, you know? And like four months had passed, and I was falling asleep. And literally as I was dozing asleep, I thought ‘Maybe they’re having money trouble.’”
The next morning, Violet received a call from her manager, business manager, and lawyer, informing her that the merch company had gone bankrupt. “That is not a good call to be receiving. And I answered the phone. They’re like, we have bad news. And I was like, ‘The merch company’s bankrupt.’ And they’re like, literally, ‘Yes.’”
In the description of the video, Violet sarcastically wrote, “I love the music industry.”
@tessaviolet I love the music industry
While Violet didn’t name the company, several other artists in the comment section quickly identified it as Second City Prints (SCP) and made similar claims of financial damages.
The TikTok account of the band Cheekface commented, “Is this SCP because they took us for almost $10k.”
Pop singer-songwriter Christian French also commented, “shoutout second city prints i’m down so bad now.”
“If this is the company I’m thinking of, this is about the 10th artist I’ve heard of in this situation,” another claimed.
In a follow-up TikTok, Violet refrained from confirming or denying the involvement of SCP but said, “First of all, to all the people who caught all the red flags in a 60-second version of my story where I only tell relevant plot points, are you a genius?”
On Dec. 28, Billboard reported that SCP had a debt exceeding $4 million to over 300 clients and was planning to file for bankruptcy after it had closed down. The official website SCP now states, “2007-2023: Thank you all so much for your support. More details on the bankruptcy are coming.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tessa Violet via TikTok direct messages for comment.
*First Published: Jan 22, 2024, 4:02 am CST
Vladimir Supica
Vladimir Supica is a Serbia-based freelance writer for the Daily Dot. He enjoys traveling through Europe, reading non-fiction books, and playing with his dog Max.
