Canadian radio stations drop Arcade Fire music amid Win Butler abuse allegations
Several major Canadian radio stations have dropped music from Arcade Fire following sexual abuse allegations submitted against frontman Win Butler last week.
A recently published investigation by Pitchfork detailed reports from four Arcade Fire fans who accused Butler of sexual misconduct.
After the singer was notified of the reports of his “inappropriate” actions, Butler made a responding statement. He said he was “very sorry to anyone who I have hurt with my behaviour” but asserted that “these relationships were all consensual”.
As a result, this week, a CBC Music FM radio station representative told Ottawa City News that the station would be putting Arcade Fire’s music on ice “until we learn more about the situation”.
Another station, Toronto’s Indie 88, confirmed that they made “a quick decision over the weekend to pull the band’s music” but that they have “not yet had a fulsome internal conversation about the permanence of this decision.”
Amid the allegations, the Canadian band kicked off the European leg of their current world tour as planned with a show in Dublin on Tuesday night.
Feist, who supported the concert, did so cautiously and thoughtfully, committing to donate all proceeds earned from her merch sales to the local chapter of Women’s Aid.
As seen in a photo circulating on social media, Feist’s merch stall flew a banner that read: “All proceeds from Feist merchandise will be donated to Women’s Aid Dublin”. The Canadian singer-songwriter is yet to publicly acknowledge the move or comment on the accusations against Butler. This is likely a wise move until a more thorough investigation has been conducted. Feist has also abstained from social media since early May.
Arcade Fire’s WE tour continues today for a second event in Dublin, which Feist is also scheduled to support. At present, it is unknown whether she plans to donate tonight’s merch proceeds to Women’s Aid or if she’ll be doing the same throughout the rest of the tour, which runs until the end of October.
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