- A pandemic program for independent music venues ended up costing wealthy musicians millions of dollars.
- Artists had to prove they operated a “drug-free workplace.” We filed a lawsuit to obtain the documents.
- Post Malone has been open about using “shrooms.” Lil Wayne loves marijuana. But they told federal authorities otherwise.
Lil Wayne is a big fan of marijuana. He often smokes joints on his podcast and on stage, and has the word “BAKED” tattooed on his forehead. In 2019, he launched a marijuana brand, and a few years before that he told an interviewer that cannabis was one of the most important things in his life.
But in 2021, Lil Wayne (real name Dwayne Carter) told the government that his touring company is a “drug-free” workplace. She said the “dangers” of drugs like marijuana were communicated to employees and she was told she could be punished or forced into a rehabilitation facility.
No one at the Small Business Administration seemed to question this, and the government wrote Lil Wayne's company, Young Money Touring, a check for $8.9 million.
Similarly, singer Austin Post, better known as Post Malone, told the SBA that his company, Posty Touring, warned employees not to use drugs. But in 2020, Post said on Joe Rogan's podcast that he made music while ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms. Its active compound, psilocybin, has been a Schedule 1 drug since 1970.
Last year, Post also told an interviewer, “Oh, I'm taking 'shrooms,'” distinguishing them from “hard drugs” and hinting at the fungi's potential medical benefits, although they remain banned. There is.
The document signed by Carter & Post, which received $10 million in grant funding from the government, was among dozens of documents Business Insider received after filing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the SBA. It was included. In its rush to cut checks, the SBA shows no signs of investigating them at all. The agency's inspector general said last year that staff were given just four hours to review applications, leaving little time to conduct due diligence.
The Office of the Inspector General declined a request for comment on Business Insider's reporting. This is because company policy prohibits commenting on specific documents or confirming or denying investigative activities. The SBA did not respond to requests for comment.
While it may seem a stretch for the SBA to tie Lil Wayne and Post Malone's pandemic payments to compliance with drug laws, similar requirements have been in place for recipients of federal funds for decades. I've been exposed to it. States and cities may also require to know what's in people's bloodstreams before cutting them a check. Several states are attempting to require drug testing for welfare recipients, and the city of San Francisco just recently voted to require cash subsidy recipients to pass a drug test.
“Social status treats drug use differently,” said Harold Pollack, a public health expert at the University of Chicago. “They don't treat a lot of famous people as brutally as we treat people with less fame very harshly.”
“Too much MDMA”
The companies led by Mr. Carter and Mr. Post were among those receiving aid from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, which aims to help struggling music venues avoid bankruptcy. In 2023, BI highlighted $200 million in payments from the initiative to big-name artists, many of whom were already wealthy and most of whom were clients of NKSFB, a Los Angeles accounting and wealth management firm.
As with many federal programs, recipients had to prove they were following federal law. In other words, free-spirited musicians who sometimes get by with a little help from friends must commit themselves to the kinds of standards often applied to defense contractors like Elon Musk's SpaceX. There wasn't.
“The fact that touring artists have a different lifestyle means they've been hit harder by the pandemic,” said Josh Schiller, a lawyer who represents clients in the entertainment industry and sued to legalize marijuana. That doesn't mean they haven't received it.” “Could we have put those grants to better use?” Schiller said. “I think that's a really good question.”
Some artists who claim to be drug-free have posted photos on Instagram of themselves working in recording studios filled with weed smoke. According to a report in NME, the touring company of dream pop duo Beach House have rightfully professed to be drug-free, blaming “high amounts of MDMA” for the festival riots. However, in 2022, the band's official Twitter account will be “huge weed smoke cloud” and was blown onto the stage when they performed.
“That's right,” the post read.
Representatives for Beach House did not respond to requests for comment, nor did press representatives for Lil Wayne or Post Malone.
Federal authorities may be able to recover funds
The SBA told grant applicants that they could be sued or even prosecuted for lying.
The agency's FAQ page states, “If you are found to have made material misstatements on your application as part of a fraudulent act aimed at obtaining funds for SVOG, you will be committing perjury and will be subject to various penalties.” You may be subject to civil and criminal penalties,” the agency's FAQ page states. .
But so far, no one has done so. And especially for artists who use cannabis, changing norms around marijuana are likely not the culprit.
“Federal prosecutors are so bogged down with litigation right now that they look at cases like this and say, 'Oh, that's a nightmare. No,'” said Dan, who advises federal employees on confidentiality issues. Attorney Meyer says: , Said.
The Shattered Venue Operator Grant Program provided enough funds to cut a second round of checks to recipients. However, some businesses that are not much different from venues and stages were not eligible for subsidies at all. Andrew Prebble, who owns an escape room business in New Orleans, said he was frustrated when he heard from SBA officials that he should have approached Congress.
“I'm not necessarily opposed to everyone receiving money,” he said.But then everyone I should have gotten the money, not just a little bit,” he added.
Nenet Day, a former federal employee who worked on pandemic-related cases, said lying to the government to get pandemic relief funds is outrageous. But she said the agency is trying to stimulate the economy and she recognizes that some of what they've scraped together will go to waste.
“They said, 'We can't afford to design a fool-proof program, so we'll accept some loss,'” Day said.
But the threat of prosecution could prompt a settlement. Day said some people who mistakenly received Paycheck Protection Program funds have had their money refunded after confronting them.
