This previous Friday (Dec. 22), Senator Rand Paul launched his “2023 ‘Festivus’ Report on Authorities Waste,” which – per his official web site – goals to “alert the American folks to how their federal authorities makes use of their hard-earned cash.” In line with the analyses, artists equivalent to Slipknot, Korn, Nickelback and Smashing Pumpkins performed an element within the “$900,000,000,000 in authorities waste.”

Close to the tip of the prolonged doc, Paul talks about how the U.S. Small Enterprise Administration (SBA) was accountable for “distributing monetary aid” when “native live performance venues and family-owned theatres have been compelled to close down through the pandemic.” Specifically, the “Shuttered Venue Operators Grant [SVOG] program was supposed to offer a lifeline to small leisure companies nationwide.”

The report continues:

Sadly, however not surprisingly, SBA did not ship. Enterprise Insider recognized dozens of well-known music artists and their touring firms that obtained over $200 million via this system.

So-called “small enterprise homeowners,” equivalent to Submit Malone, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, and Smashing Pumpkins, obtained as much as $10 million every. Even Nickelback obtained $2 million. Whereas some could declare these funds have been used to maintain supporting workers, artists weren’t required to take action, and now we have no approach of figuring out how these clean checks have been used.

These multi-millionaire musicians have been cashing checks, as a substitute of the supposed recipients: America’s small companies.

Alongside the textual content is a graphic that includes a number of different acts who’ve obtained grants.

For example, Korn’s Jonathan Davis is pictured alongside “$5.3M”; Slipknot’s Corey Taylor is pictured alongside “$9.7M”; and Vampire Weekend vocalist/guitarist Ezra Koenig is pictured alongside “$8.3M.” Taylor’s picture can be matched with a press release claiming: “A music pageant based by Slipknot, Knotfest, additionally obtained a $1,050,736 grant”; likewise, Koenig’s picture can be paired with a press release claiming: “Vampire Weekend’s supervisor Monotone Inc. additionally obtained a grant, for $3,077,888.”

Along with the Enterprise Insider article, the evaluation hyperlinks to an Excel spreadsheet that features SVOG information.

You’ll be able to learn Rand Paul’s full report right here.

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Per Blabbermouth, the SVOG program “supplied over $16 billion to closed venues.” Blabbermouth additionally clarifies:

Eligible companies contains dwell venue operators or promoters, theatrical producers, performing arts organizations, expertise representatives and film theaters. The SBA additionally prioritized companies that noticed the best losses through the pandemic.

Candidates have been eligible to obtain 45% of their 2019 gross income as much as $10 million per grant. To qualify for the grant, companies needed to have been open on February 29, 2020. Any federal Paycheck Safety Program loans the businesses had forgiven would have needed to be subtracted from the overall grants.

Again in July 2020, Loudwire reported on the Paycheck Safety Program (PPP), which was approved by the SBA and the Treasury to “distribute loans to assist companies pay their workers.” Each Slipknot and Nickelback have been among the many artists who “benefited from the stimulus program.”

There’s additionally Stay Nation’s “On the Highway Once more” program, which – Loudwire reported in Sept. 2023 – was designed to “mitigate the difficulties of touring and assist assist creating artists and crew members. A part of this new initiative contains an finish to merchandise cuts, a difficulty a number of artists have spoken out in opposition to post-pandemic.”

As demonstrated by Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke’s current criticism of ongoing venue “greed,” there are nonetheless points with how these packages are carried out and maintained.

Oh, and in case you’re unaware, “Festivus” refers back to the secular anti-holiday created by writer Daniel O’Keefe in 1966; popularized by the 1997 Seinfeld episode “The Strike”; and celebrated on Dec. 23 of every 12 months.