Vanity Press label founder wanted on charge of aggravated domestic violence, artists sever ties
Trigger warning: domestic abuse, violence
Artists and DJs have severed ties with Michigan label Vanity Press after it was made public that its founder David Marroquin is wanted on a charge of aggravated domestic violence.
Marroquin’s girlfriend Molly De Wind tweeted via the Vanity Press account yesterday (2nd September), stating she had been assaulted by Marroquin last month. She wrote: “Your friend Dave beat me so bad that I had to get reconstructive surgery on my cheek and nose and I’ll never look the same”.
As Resident Advisor reports, public records from Michigan’s 15th Judicial District Court in Ann Arbor show that Marroquin was charged with “domestic violence – aggravated” on 6th August following an incident that occurred on the 5th.
Financial channels through which to support De Wind have since been shared online, with a number of people sharing their communications with her, confirming that she is safe and grateful for the support. De Wind told producer, Ali Berger, to let people know via Twitter that “dave is dangerous and if you see him you should call the police, there’s a warrant for his arrest”.
Another message from De Wind shared to Twitter states that Marroquin had swindled her out of large sums of money. She writes that he persuaded her to loan him $1200 to “save his business”, but instead used the money to buy drugs. Since yesterday, donations to De Wind’s Venmo (@molly-dewind) have reached the $5,000 weekly limit, and she has relayed her thanks via a message shared on Twitter. Donations can still be made to De Wind’s paypal via this link.
Since the charges against him were made public, a number of people have spoken out about Marroquin’s financial misconduct, unpaid royalties and exploitation of artists through the label. Artists and DJs including AceMo and DJ Swisha have vocalised their support for De Wind, and a number of producers, including Juana and DJ Girl, with releases on Vanity Press have stated that they are seeking their music’s removal from its Bandcamp page. Others, such as Martyn Bootyspoon and Lars, have stressed that they do not want people to buy their Vanity Press releases on Bandcamp, stating that people should instead send them receipts of their donations to De Wind, who is currently unable to work.
