Black Crowes Demand Apology To Band From Maxim

BLACK CROWES DEMAND APOLOGY TO BAND FROM MAXIM:

February 27, 2008

Atlanta rockers Black Crowes are demanding an apology from Maxim magazine over a review of their album Warpaint done by a reviewer who heard one song on the unreleased CD.

On Tuesday, Maxim apologized to readers over the review, with editorial director James Kaminsky releasing a statement saying it is magazine policy “to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety.”

The March issue of Maxim, already on the stands, has a review of Warpaint, although the album will not be issued until March 4.

Only one song, Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution, has been released, so the reviewer could not have heard the whole album.

But an apology to the band over the negative review has yet to be issued, said Black Crowes’ manager Pete Angeles.

“The appropriate action from Maxim is to immediately issue a public apology to the Black Crowes for disparaging both the band and their soon-to-be released new album Warpaint without having heard the material,” he said in a statement.

The apology to readers is mere “damage control,” he said.

“It comes as no surprise that Maxim has elected to apologize to their readers now that the world has been informed of their deception; however, that is not full accountability,” he said.

He called the fabrication of an album review “highly unethical and indefensible,” adding that it shows disrespect for both artists and readers.

Faced with more criticism over the incident, Kaminsky offered an apology to the band in an interview with the Associated Press.

He also said the magazine was previewing CDs in its March issue — not reviewing them.

“We have often run previews, which are based on the fact that an album is coming out … but [those in the March issue] should not have had star ratings attached to [them],” he said.

“There should be no blurry line between what’s a preview and what’s a review,” he added, explaining that only a review should have a star rating.

“There was a bit of a breakdown that led to that happening and I’m looking into it and, as I’ve said, we’ve already put measures in place to ensure that that will not happen again.”

Courtesy of www.cbc.ca