Which record label are Newsboys signed with? Christian music group says they were dropped amid sexual assault allegations against Michael Tait

Christian music group Newsboys has revealed that they have been dropped by their record label amid the sexual assault allegations against Michael Tait.

The Grammy-nominated band announced the news at the Elevate Music Festival on Sunday. They said that their record label of a long time, Capitol Christian Music Group, has parted ways with them following the scandal involving their former lead singer. As of this writing, the boy band is not signed with any record label.

Adam Agee, who is now the frontman of the band, said at the time:

"We've been dropped from our record label. We've had radio stations pull our music. We've been cancelled by promoters and venues all over the world. But not tonight."

The sexual assault allegations against Michael Tait explored as frontman admits to wrongdoing:

Newsboys comprises Adam Agee, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein, and Jody Davis. During their performance on stage at Highlands Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, Agee continued:

“A few weeks ago, our world was rocked by the devastating news about what…that confession and what that double life really was. We were shocked because in January, he had mentioned a few things about substance abuse, and some personal struggles he was having at home when he wasn’t on the road, but never anything of the magnitude of what we read and what was reported and never anything, ever, just anything that could have ever made us think that he could possibly be a danger to others or anything like that.”

He added,

“He was our brother…he was a friend to our families…it just has been devastating for us. Our families have felt like our names [have] been dragged through the mud because of all this, and it’s really, really hurt our kids.”

He said of Michael Tait’s departure from the group in January:

“As a result of all this, and the things that have come out that he’s done, he’s confessed, we’ve been dropped from our record label."

Michael Tait, who served as the frontman of the band for 16 years, left the group abruptly. On June 4, as reported by Variety, The Roys Report, a Christian site, published a lengthy article that outlined “Nashville’s worst-kept secret” and the singer's pattern of “predatory grooming” and drug abuse.

The following day, the band took to their social media channels to issue the following statement:

"Our hearts were shattered when we read the news alleging drug abuse and inappropriate sexual actions by our former lead singer, Michael Tait," they began. "We are devastated even by the implications of such behavior." They continued: "First and foremost, our hearts are with the victims who have bravely shared their stories. If you are a victim, we urge you to come forward. We absolutely do not condone any form of sexual assault." They added, “When he left the band in January, Michael confessed to us and our management that he ‘had been living a double-life’ but we never imagined that it could be this bad.”

On June 10, Michael Tait confirmed the allegations against him:

“For some two decades I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol, and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way,” he wrote. “I am ashamed of my life choices and actions, and make no excuses for them. I will simply call it what God calls it — sin. I don’t blame anyone or anything but myself. While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them…”

Just last week, The Roys Report shared a new testimony from an alleged victim, a former Pulse Ministries staff member who claims she was r*ped. She said the incident took place back in 2014 at a room in Fargo, North Dakota, when the band was on their "The Reason" Christmas tour.

She alleged that he gave her alcohol, causing her to black out. However, upon waking up in a bathroom later, she found a man on top of her while Tait stood nearby, watching. According to The Christian Post, surveillance footage shows Matthew Brewer, a former lighting technician, and Michael Tait escorting the woman, who was 23 years old at the time, to their room.

She has also accused longtime Newsboys tour manager Steve Campbell of burying the assault. Brewer claims the incident was consensual, while Campbell denies any wrongdoing. As for Michael Tait, he has yet to comment on the new testimony.

Several men come forward to accuse Michael Tait of molestation: Read some of their stories below

In a June 13 report from The Guardian, six men came forward to accuse the Grammy winner of molestation, abuse, and drugging them. All of the incidents took place between 2001 and 2009, and two of the accusers were minors at the time.

“(Michael Tait) grabbed my crotch and tried to kiss me at the same time”, one accuser named Gabriel said. “It wasn’t subtle, and it was out of nowhere. I asked him, ‘What the hell is going on?’ He said he was just joking, but then he did it again. I jumped out of the pool and drove home, which I shouldn’t have done because I was more intoxicated than I’ve ever been, but that’s how scared I was," he added.

Gabriel, who revealed he was abused as a child, said that Michael Tait was sympathetic towards him before he “betrayed that trust.”

“To this day, I jump whenever someone touches me unexpectedly,” Gabriel said. “When something like that happens to you, you feel like the worst person; you feel dirty, worthless. It’s heartbreaking to think someone you look up to could do something like that.”

He also told The Guardian that the frontman had presented himself as “the pinnacle of godliness." While he “blamed God" for the incident for a long time, he's still a believer.

“I get that people sin, but to use that as a facade of his righteousness to commit sin, that made me walk away from my faith for a while,” he said. “He took something from me that I’ll never get back. In time, though, I found my way back to God.”

Shawn Davis, who was 16 when he first met Michael Tait at a party in 2003, told the outlet that he acted like he was his only friend before he began preying on him. He accused the singer of spiking his drink, causing him to black out, before molesting him in a closet.

He says Tait eventually apologized, but convinced him it was his fault.

“He was very manipulative, and I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Davis said.

Upon reading Tait's confession on Instagram, Davis said that he does not believe a word of it.

“I didn’t believe his apology—it felt hollow, like he was dodging real accountability,” he said. “Instead of owning up to what he did, instead he shielded himself behind Christianity.”

Another victim, Israel Anthem, spoke to both The Guardian and TRR about his abuse at the hands of Michael Tait, noting that it began when he was just 13. Having grown up with the singer as a family friend, he recalled his first harrowing instance of abuse:

"Tait came into the restaurant after my family and stopped by our table to say hi," he told TRR. “Forty-five minutes later, I walked to the male restroom,” he said. “We were both standing in front of the urinal making polite conversation. I finished, so zipped up my fly and walked to the sink to wash my hands. Michael kept talking, and when I turned around, he was facing me with his d*ck out. He kept eye contact with me for 20 to 30 seconds and kept talking. I thought he was zipping up his pants, but he was rubbing his p*nis. It felt like an eternity.”

He said he chose to publicly disclose his name because Michael Tait has a stronghold over the Christian music industry.

“Knowledge about Tait’s predator behavior is so intrinsic to Christian music, his nails are burrowed into the fabric of it, that any validation of his behavior invalidates the whole industry,” he told TRR. “There are three types of people in Nashville: Those who know the stories about Tait, are survivors and are terrified; Those who validate the stories about Tait, believe them to be true and wait for the day justice happens; And those who will cash a check with Tait despite knowing the truth.”

Yet another man, who is choosing to go by the pseudonym “Abraham,” told The Guardian that Tait once touched him inappropriately when they met for lunch in 2006. Then 22, the victim spoke to TRR about his encounter with Michael Tait, saying:

“Within a few minutes of the conversation Tait touched my earlobe, and toward the end of the meal, put his hand on my thigh,” he said. “I was a very naïve young man. So, while I thought it was awkward, I certainly didn’t think the worst. He was talking about how (former DC Talk member) Toby (Mac) was raised (believing) your hair has to be off of your ear. (He mentioned) going to Liberty University. Most people, if they were going to do a gesture, they would touch their own ear. He reached out and kind of caressed my earlobe.”

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Michael Tait has yet to address the victim's claims.

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