Photo of Tegan & Sara by Justin Higuchi / CC by 2.0
Tegan and Sara announced on social media that they were shutting down their Warner Music merchandise store due to a “huge backlog” of orders that they insist are affecting the stores of other artists as well.
“Today we’ve asked Warner Records to shut down the Tegan and Sara online merchandise store,” the two wrote. “Their warehouse is experiencing a huge backlog that is affecting all Warner artist stores and there is no definitive answer about when remaining pre-orders will ship and this is just unacceptable to us. We have requested Warner not take any new orders for Tegan and Sara merchandise as we have lost faith in their warehouse’s ability to fulfill those orders in a timely manner.”
The two sisters also said that the backlog is affecting pre-orders of their next album, which will be entitled Hey, I’m Just Like You, as well as such items as branded hoodies, t-shirts, and limited-edition cassette tapes. The new album will include reimagined versions of demos the pair first recorded back when they were teenagers.
Customers who have been waiting for their orders can receive a full refund from Warner by emailing their order number to [email protected].
The two further indicated that they will soon be launching their own merchandise store.
“We have spent our career laser focused on giving you the best quality products,” they said, “at a fair price, with unique designs created in house by our art director Emy and so to have the Hey, I’m Just Like You pre-order get fumbled so badly pains us. The changes we are making will allow us to have much more control, so we can avoid situations like this happening ever again.”
Warner also issued a statement in regards to the situation. They said, “We are taking these customer service issues very seriously and working with our pick, pack and ship provider Direct Shot, as well as other vendors, to resolve this situation.”