PledgeMusic ask for “patience” amid acquisition

[Beckham07]

"These conversations, if successful....would allow us to meet all of our outstanding obligations"

Crowdfunding website PledgeMusic has issued a further statement in response to musicians claiming that they haven’t received the money they’d fundraised via the platform.

Since its formation in 2009, the website has offered a platform for artists to receive funding from their fans for upcoming projects. Artists including Weezer, Sum 41 and Slash have all successfully launched albums using the platform in the past.

As Pitchfork reports, US band OhGr claimed that they were owed $100,000. Fastball also alleged that they were still owed over $21,000.

PledgeMusic issued a fresh statement on Saturday (February 1) to inform the public about its progress after formerly vowing to directly address the funding problems.

Part of the statement reads: “We are in discussions with several interested parties about a potential partnership with or acquisition of PledgeMusic. These conversations, if successful, would lead to a transaction which would allow us to meet all of our outstanding obligations. As a result, we are hopeful that, as long as the company is given some breathing space to operate, a solution to these current problems will be found.

Elsewhere the release states: “To you artists especially, we understand that every last penny is vital to your project’s successful delivery and as such we wanted to share with you some of the concrete action that we have undertaken to date.”

“We ask for patience. We know that for a lot of you this must be wearing very thin, but we can only reiterate that we are fully focused on making this situation right.”

Last month, the crowdfunding platform said, “We deeply regret that recently we have not lived up to the high standards to which PledgeMusic has always held itself. We acknowledge that many artists have and continue to experience payment delays. These delays to artists are unacceptable—not only to them, but to us.”

“Since its beginning, PledgeMusic has successfully serviced over 45K artists from emerging acts to some of the biggest names in the industry. We’ve supported 60 Grammy-nominated artists and helped springboard 100s of unsigned bands to successful careers. Our efforts have assisted over 375 artists with chart position on the Billboard Top 200. Our platform has provided close to $100m of revenue to its artist community.”

In a follow-up statement, co-founder Benji Rogers vowed to correct the situation despite ending his direct involvement with the company in 2016.

“Once again I am truly sorry to any and all of you who have been harmed as a result of what I made,” he said.

“Please know that I will do all that is within my power to make it right and to fix what I can if given the opportunity to do so.”

The latest statement adds that Rogers has returned to PledgeFund as “a volunteer strategic advisor and observer to the board of directors.”

“Benji will assist and advise the new management and finance team on the inherited and existing issues, as well as with the forward planning for the company.”

PledgeMusic added that it is in advanced discussions with an independent third-party company to manage all artist funds going forward.