Ryan Adams Album Release Canceled Amid Report of FBI Inquiry

Following an article published by The New York Times on Wednesday about Adams’ treatment of women, from a teenage fan to his ex-wife, Mandy Moore, FBI agents in the bureau’s New York office took the first steps to open a criminal investigation. They are responding to an accusation that Adams exchanged sexually explicit images with the teenager, who said her communication with the singer began when she was 14 and ended when she was 16. They never met in person, and through a lawyer, Adams has denied ever engaging in sexual conversations with someone he knew was underage.

Adams, a prolific Grammy-nominated rock and alternative country singer, had previously announced plans to release three albums this year via Blue Note Records and his own Pax-Am label. On Thursday, the first of those new albums, “Big Colors,” which had been scheduled for April 19, was put on hold indefinitely, according to music retailers.

Bull Moose, a record store chain in Maine and New Hampshire, posted on Twitter a message it had received from a supplier stating the album “has been canceled effectively immediately.” A representative for the store confirmed it had been alerted by a sales representative for Universal Music Group that the album was canceled. Capitol Music Group, a division of Universal Music, which was scheduled to distribute Adams’ new albums, declined to comment.

SRCVinyl, another seller, said it was offering refunds for customers who had already purchased “Big Colors,” and a pre-order page on the Pax-Am website was also removed.

Two musical equipment companies that worked with the singer also suspended their relationships with him on Thursday.

In a statement, Benson Amps said it was “saddened and surprised by the recent allegations” against Adams and would no longer move forward with the development of a Ryan Adams signature model. JHS Pedals, a guitar effects company, said it would cease all collaboration with Adams and discontinue his signature pedal, adding that it would rebrand its current inventory “with a portion of the sale going towards the fight against sexual abuse and misconduct.”

Adams was also accused in The Times’ article of a pattern of emotional abuse and manipulation, in which he offered career assistance and credibility to young female musicians, only to sometimes turn harassing and retaliatory. Adams denied the characterizations of his behavior as abusive or manipulative and challenged the accuracy of the reporting, though he apologized on Twitter “to anyone I have ever hurt, however unintentionally.”

In January, Adams, who has released 16 studio albums and a much-discussed cover version of Taylor Swift’s “1989,” announced a deluge of new music in a nontraditional way: via political reporters. Using well-known staff members from The Washington Post, CBS, NBC and Politico, Adams spread information about his three new albums, including “Big Colors” and a follow-up titled “Wednesdays.”

He had also announced 10 European tour dates beginning March 30 in Dublin. As of Friday, tickets were still available for purchase.

“Big Colors” was produced by Don Was, the president of Blue Note Records, and was scheduled to feature John Mayer, Bob Mould, and Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Guest musicians slated for “Wednesdays,” which was not given a release date, included Emmylou Harris and Jason Isbell, who wrote on Twitter this week that he believed the women speaking out against Adams.

Other former collaborators have also come forward. The musician and model Karen Elson, who toured with Adams in 2017, said in a post on Instagram that she “also had a traumatizing experience with Ryan Adams.” But she added, “I’m not quite brave enough yet to speak about my specifics.”

Asked about the allegations against Adams, singer-songwriter Liz Phair, with whom Adams said he was working on a double album in 2017, posted on Twitter: “My experience was nowhere near as personally involving, but yes the record ended and the similarities are upsetting.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.