Brooklyn Made has abruptly shut down following a legal battle between its owners. Photo Credit: John Matychuk
Brooklyn Made has abruptly closed following an ugly legal battle between its owners.
The almost four-year-old venue just recently revealed the unfortunate news, including in a detail-light message posted to its website homepage. “Brooklyn Made is closed, all shows are cancelled,” the Bushwick venue wrote in full. “Ticket refunds will be issued at point of purchase.”
Absent from this message as well as the establishment’s social profiles is any mention of the reasons behind the development. Meanwhile, various outlets have put out fragmented summaries of the situation.
And that’s probably because said situation, certainly not helped by the economic climate’s indie-venue impact, involves more than a few moving parts
Shortly before Brooklyn Made set sail, Pollstar in June 2021 described the venue as a collaboration between Anthony Makes, previously a Live Nation exec, and Kelly Winrich, the owner of Brooklyn’s Maracuja.
For some time thereafter, it was seemingly smooth sailing for the professional relationship, complete with Winrich (who’s also a veteran musician) serving as a Brooklyn Made partner.
April 2022 saw the overarching Brooklyn Made Presents promoter announce plans to open a pair of different venues across the street, BrooklynVegan reported three years ago.
While it probably doesn’t need saying in light of the closure, the arrangement ultimately soured.
Reacting to the venue shutdown, in-the-know Redditors noted a massive dust-up – complete with the above-said ugly legal battle – between Makes and Winrich.
Courtroom docs show that this convoluted dispute encompassed several complaints and angles, which are best summarized. In short, then, Winrich accused Makes and his wife of fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary duties, and more.
All told, these alleged actions purportedly caused Winrich “and his family to invest over $75 million in multiple live music-related ventures.”
Makes allegedly “falsely promised lucrative partnerships, including an imminent investment by Spotify, to secure long-term leases and drive more capital into the businesses,” Justice Reginald A. Boddie reiterated in a mid-February order.
Additionally, the defendants allegedly “mismanaged the ventures, diverted company funds for personal use, locked plaintiff out of the finances and operations, and ultimately destroyed the ventures’ financial viability.”
On the heels of the order, the parties informed the court that they’d reached a settlement in principle, per the relevant letter.
And though we don’t know exactly what the agreement (settling all the actions) entails, it evidently ushered in Brooklyn Made’s shutdown. In a statement, Makes underscored his eagerness to be “out of those buildings.”
“I am very pleased that this partnership has ended and I am out of those buildings,” Makes relayed. “I’m confident my 35 years of contributing to the live music business speaks for itself. I am looking forward to the next chapter.”
DMN also reached out to Winrich for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.
Bringing the focus back to the present, notwithstanding the multifaceted disagreements between Brooklyn Made’s owners, the shutdown came as a surprise to many fans and even artists.
They made as much clear on social media, including by noting that Brooklyn Made had booked additional shows well past March. Amigo the Devil has moved a May 7th concert to The Sultan Room, to name one of many rescheduling examples.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.