Scott Weiland Fans Suspect Ripoff After Receiving $500 Signed Megaphones
Numerous Scott Weiland fans are upset after receiving their $500 signed megaphones from the frontman's PledgeMusic page. The megaphones were advertised as being used by Weiland himself on either Stone Temple Pilots or Velvet Revolver live shows or recording sessions, but some who received the megaphones suspect they've been ripped off.
Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts used PledgeMusic to crowd-fund the band's new Blaster album. One of the incentives to donate was to receive a piece of Weiland history in the form of one of his trademark megaphones. "We have 25 of these in the warehouse. Some have been used on STP and Velvet Revolver tours. Some during the recordings of STP and Velvet Revolver albums. You will receive one of these megaphones, but we may not be able to tell you exactly when and where it was used," the description reads.
Fans just received their megaphones, but in a PledgeMusic discussion forum, multiple fans are very unhappy. Contributor Kimberly Cole writes:
Megaphones are new. Mine arrived with the made in China sticker still in the barrel and the factory packaging still in the battery compartment. Waiting to hear back from Pledge staff on how to proceed. All of my pledges ended up arriving with goods different from what was advertised. This being the big ticket one, and the last of the lot, I'm not happy. Maybe Scott's folks will step up to make it right, or offer something to compromise, but I'm not overly hopeful. Going to await a response before proceeding down other paths to find a remedy. This was not ok to do to people. And there is no delay to blame, no loss that can account for a bait and switch. Especially when we all waited so long and really cared about both contributing to the album and the weight of the value we placed on each of our personal choices of goods in return. I am both sad about situation and pissed at being taken advantage of and someone making the decision that we are too dumb to know the difference, to read and understand what we bought, or perhaps took for granted that we wouldn't mind slight if we are fans. It's unfortunate. That it happened. And worse that it still isn't over. I hope they do the right thing without any third parties having to be brought in. No one wants that, but you can't screw people without their consent. Not legally anyway...
Another fan named Jon Ionita also spoke out via the forum:
That's unacceptable! I am out of town and have not had a chance to see if it came in, but if mine is like Kimberley's, I feel exactly the same way as she does. Enough is enough.
I know it's not PledgeMusic's fault the item was not fulfilled as advertised, but it is PledgeMusic's problem since it was sold on your website and this is clearly a case of false advertising.
On the other hand, commenter Jared Knauf raised a point in Weiland's defense:
If you google search photos of Scott with a megaphone, you will eventually come across a few live concert pics where he has left the "made in China" sticker on the inside of the cone, particularly the pics where he is in a white dress shirt and black tie. From the photos it appears that the megaphones are in excellent condition. Just sayin'.
Scott Weiland's last album recorded with Stone Temple Pilots was released in 2010, while his last show with the group was in 2012. As for Velvet Revolver, 2007's Libertad was the group's most recent album, while the band's last tour concluded in 2008 with a one-off gig taking place in early 2012.
All facts considered, it seems strange that the megaphones would appear to be right out of the box, but Scott Weiland's megaphones never tend to look too beat up. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned for updates on this story as news breaks.
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