Nickelback, Post Malone, Chris Brown, and other stars took COVID cash despite their accountants' initial concerns about 'perjury' and 'perception problems,' court documents say
Top accountants for superstar musicians at NKSFB worried their clients could not legally claim COVID cash. Then they changed their minds.
A 2023 Business Insider investigation found that dozens of wealthy musicians used ineffective oversight and loopholes in the law to line their pockets. Post Malone, Chris Brown, Nickelback, and other artists got millions in taxpayer money even as some of them spent lavishly on homes and other acquisitions (in Post Malone's case, he spent more than $1 million on a hobbyist's sword-forging studio shortly before receiving $10 million in grants). Lil Wayne and others submitted signed certifications that they maintained drug-free workplaces, a requirement to get federal grants, despite being open about their enthusiasm for weed and psychedelic drugs.
But once the law was passed, Strickland said he focused on helping as many people get money as possible. He was frank about the program's shortcomings: "They met the letter of the law — and it was written wide open," he told BI. "I know a bunch of folks that bought jet cards. There was nothing in there that said you had to pay people."
The article also notes that two businesses partly owned by veteran talent manager Irving Azoff, whose firm’s clients include the Eagles, Lizzo, Harry Styles, and Gwen Stefani, together received $17.5 million from the program, although an attorney for Azoff said the companies complied with the program’s rules.
The amounts received by the above artists and others, if accurate, are staggering: $10 million each for Post Malone and Chris Brown, $9.9 million for Steve Aoki, $8.9 million for Lil Wayne, $8.6 million for Smashing Pumpkins, and many more. Sources tell Variety that the maximum relief money many venue owners received was $100,000.
R&B artist Chris Brown got $10 million. Rapper Lil Wayne got $8.9 million. Nineties rockers The Smashing Pumpkins got $8.6 million. Nickelback — yes, Nickelback — received $2 million.