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AN OPEN LETTER TO NEON HITCH FANS:

An Open Letter to Neon Hitch Fans:

I am the “investor” named in Neon’s blog post of yesterday afternoon concerning the "Sparks" music video. I would like to share some thoughts on this unfortunate situation and, more importantly, make clear our desire to release the video for all of Neon’s fans.

I do not intend to refute point by point the issues raised in Neon’s post. While her recitation of what transpired is not accurate, I believe responsibility for that falls not upon Neon but instead her management team, with whom we have been working throughout this ordeal. I would have expected Neon’s advisors to keep her apprised of the true facts and to represent her best interests. In my opinion, that has not occurred.

The reason I put “investor” in quotes above is because I have never viewed this video as an investment. I believed (and still do believe) in Neon and her music and message, and I have put more than $20,000 of my own money behind that belief. As many of you know, there is little if any money to be made from music videos. They are principally a means of boosting an artist’s exposure and driving album sales. We did not ask to participate in that upside, and instead requested only that a share of Neon’s revenues from the music video and song be paid to us until we have recouped our costs. There would not be any opportunity to profit. This was not an investment by any stretch of the imagination.

Only after we had completed filming and most post-production on the music video did we learn that all revenues from the music video and song go not to Neon but instead to a Norway-based songwriting and production company, which apparently owns the song. This came as a shock to us on two fronts. First, we cannot release a music video without a grant of rights to use the song. We had been told Neon controlled those rights. Apparently she does not. Second, this meant that the contract Neon’s managers had proposed, which tied our reimbursement right to revenues received by Neon – not the Norway-based company – was an empty right. Simply put, we would never recoup any of the costs we had incurred and had yet to incur to finish the music video. It was at that point that I put post-production on hold.

Neon recently questioned whether we have actually expended significant funds on the project. When you see the music video, I think it will be obvious to you that we have. But we did not ask Neon to take that on faith alone. We provided Neon and her advisors a detailed accounting of our costs and expenses. That was last week. We heard nothing further from Neon or her advisors before yesterday's post.

Please know that the last thing I want is for the “Sparks” music video to sit on a hard drive collecting dust. I am incredibly proud of the work our team has done on this project. Not just Neon but the entire creative team have poured their hearts and souls into this music video. Failing to release it would be a tremendous injustice to each and every one of them.

I continue to believe in this project and am willing to spend the additional money needed to complete post-production and make the music video available through VEVO and the other distribution channels at our disposal. But we need permission to do that. More than a hundred of you have asked us to ‪#‎FREESPARKS‬. As soon as Neon and the song’s owner authorize us to finish and release the music video, we will do just that, without Neon or the song’s owner having any obligations to us whatsoever. I accept that the funds I put into the music video will never be recouped. The hard work and talent of everyone involved is reason enough for it to be released.

I truly believe we have created something incredible here, which will do both Neon and her fans proud. We look forward to sharing it with you soon.

Best,

Robert