Marshmello Received a Bigger COVID Relief Grant than Any Other US Musician: Report

According to a report by Business Insider, Marshmello received $9.9 million from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program.

In the midst of the COVID pandemic, the US government introduced the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) to offer relief to ailing music industry professionals. Marshmello apparently received $9.9 million from the program — more than any other musician.

Other recipients of sizeable SVOG grants were the grunge band Alice In Chains at $1.4 million, rapper Lil Wayne at $8.9 million, and performer Steve Aoki at $1.9 million, according to a bombshell report by Business Insider. This was in spite of them apparently continuing to amass high earnings while thousands of the “middle class people” and “young artists” intended to benefit most from the program struggled from gigs lost due to lockdown restrictions.

In order to be eligible for grants up to $10 million, musicians and other arts industry professionals simply needed to prove to the Small Business Administration (SBA) that their business had decreased by 25% from at least one quarter in 2019 to the same one in 2020. Applicants with fewer existing assets were not given priority.

While the sums doled out to millionaire artists by the SBA may not have been tantamount to fraud, there’s a case to be made that they shouldn’t have come at taxpayer expense. “At a minimum, it smells,” said former US Comptroller General David Walker, according to Business Insider. “Whether it’s legal or not is up to a lawyer or ultimately to a court. But it sure smells.”

In the case of Marshmello (real name Christopher Comstock), the entire $9.9 million sum was paid directly to him. His business manager, Steven Macaulay of the accounting firm NKSFB, reportedly told the SBA that Comstock having received a salary “in excess of the SVOG Grant Award” from 365 Touring International in 2019 made him eligible to pocket the entire amount.

All in all, some 13,000 applicants received SVOG grants. Many of them reported that they wouldn’t have been able to operate without the financial assistance.