PledgeMusic
PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009, that was started to facilitate musicians reaching out to their fanbase to pre-sell, market, and distribute music projects including recordings, music videos, and concerts. Broadly speaking it bore some similarities to other artist payment platforms as ArtistShare, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Patreon, RocketHub and Sellaband. The company announced it was facing bankruptcy in May 2019, after a year of artists reporting slow payment problems and was wound up on July 31.
Business model
PledgeMusic considered itself a direct-to-fan platform as opposed to a crowdfunding website. Features that the site claimed distinguished it from similar competitors:- Sole focus on raising funds for musicians
- Not retaining any ownership or rights to any music created through the platform
- Encourages artists to include contributions to charity
- Absorbs all transaction processing costs involved in pledging on a project
- Encourages artists to offer a wide range of incentives and exclusive content to fans
- No processing of any fund transactions until the fund target reached
- International, accepting artists, projects and pledges from all over the world
- Pledger refunds
Charity
PledgeMusic artists have the option of donating a percentage of their total or post-goal revenue to a charity of their choice. Currently, 67% of projects are linked with a charity. Artists without a cause in mind are able to meet with the company's charity outreach specialist to pair them up with charities.Critique
In 2010, while discussing the Digital Economy Bill Lord Errol, in the UK House of Lords, has described PledgeMusic as a "rather clever idea" in the context of new ways of releasing music.In June 2019, Musically reported that Kickstarter decided against launching a similar service due to being unable to find a sustainable business model that would support a high number of lower-volume creators.
History
Formation
PledgeMusic was formed in the UK and registered with Companies House on October 1, 2008 by Benji Rogers, Jann Tosatto, Jayce Varden and Rupert Selby who were all directors of the company.In the next few years, a number of complementary companies were also formed under the PledgeMusic banner. They were: PledgeMusic Retail Ltd on June 18, 2009; PledgeMusic Recordings Limited on August 18, 2010 ; and PledgeMusic Publishing on November 11, 2010. Benji Rogers was a director of all of the additional companies together with others in various combinations, some of whom went on to also become PledgeMusic.com directors.
Early successes
Ginger Wildheart was awarded the 2012 Classic Rock Awards 'Event Of The Year' award for his PledgeMusic campaign.By 2013, roughly thirty artists that used the site had subsequently signed label recording contracts.
In 2014, PledgeMusic reported a 90% campaign success rate, with most artists raising an average 140% of their goal. PledgeMusic and Lynda.com teamed up to produce a documentary about 'super fans' and their role in the future of the music industry. The documentary features footage and interviews from SXSW and interviews with artists such as Nicole Atkins and San Fermin.
Directorial changes
By the last quarter of 2015, all of the founding directors, with the exception of Benji Rogers, had left PledgeMusic. Rusell Rieger and Joshua Sason joined as directors in 2015 with Donald Ienner, Daniel Rowe and David Walsh joining in June 2017. Benji Rogers eventually left the company on February 18, 2018.Payment issues since 2018
In early 2019, reports emerged of artists not being paid in accordance with their agreements with PledgeMusic. Also at that time, PledgeMusic's accounts for 2017 had not been filed with Companies House in the UK and by then were 4 months overdue. On 24 January 2019, PledgeMusic issued a statement via its blog page that claimed the company was having “discussions with several strategic players in the industry who have an interest in the PledgeMusic platform” and that it expects "payments will be brought current within the next 90 days."On January 29, PledgeMusic founder Benji Rogers issued a statement saying he was returning to the company as "a volunteer strategic advisor and observer to the board." While the company was still working to "sort the back payments issue", Rogers claimed that "all funds coming into the company from now on will be managed by an independent third party."
In February 2019, a company charge was placed on PledgeMusic by Sword, Rowe & Company LLC.
On May 3, a report was published in Digital Music News in which a leaked email was quoted, apparently sent from Robbie Wirdnam, an assistant manager at FRP Advisory LLP, who, according to the email, are due to be appointed as administrators for the winding up of PledgeMusic.com. The email was attempting to find potential buyers for all or part of the PledgeMusic business prior to selling off the company's assets.
Administration and liquidation: May to July 2019
Benji Rogers, the company's co-founder, stated in a blog dated May 8 that efforts to sell the company had failed and that "PledgeMusic will shortly be heading into administration". Rogers said that the crowdfunding platform had used money that was pledged for use by musical artists to pay off the company's debts instead. Many artists who were pledged money through the website will most likely not receive the money that was promised to them. John Zorn is among the artists affected, who is owed $197,559, money which was pledged to help him finish his 25-year-long project, The Book Beriah.By June 5, a number of trade bodies in the United Kingdom, including UK Music, had launched a survey to investigate the impact PledgeMusic's failure would have on the industry.
Sometime between July 13 and July 25, the PledgeMusic.com website became unavailable. The latest archived copy held by web.archive.org was dated July 13.
On July 31, a petition to wind up PledgeMusic.com was heard in the High Court of London. The petition was presented by Russell Rieger on behalf of the directors of PledgeMusic.com, who at that time were Russell Rieger, Joshua Sason, Donald Ienner, Daniel Rowe and David Walsh, and was granted on August 19.
Aftermath of insolvency and liquidation
PledgeMusic went bankrupt before John Zorn and hundreds of other artists were paid money owed via campaign pledges. In November 2019, Failure frontman Ken Andrews alleged PledgeMusic owed them £75,000, from their 2018 album campaign. Andrews went further saying former CEO, Dominic Pandiscia, changed the company's policy of ring fencing artist's money in 2016. Pandiscia denied the claims and said he is considering legal action against Andrews.Artists with campaigns on the site
| Release/End date | Artist | Type | Project Title | Label | Ref | Note |
| June 2019 | Delphia | Album | Moonlight | Del-Fi | Money withheld by PledgeMusic | |
| January 2019 | Ohgr | Album | Tricks | Independent | ||
| January 2019 | Utopia | Album | Utopia : The Complete Bearsville Singles 1977-1982 | Rhino/Bearsville/Warner Bros. | ||
| 2018 | Failure | Album | In The Future Your Body Will Be The Furthest Thing From Your Mind | $75,000 allegedly withheld by PledgeMusic | ||
| 2018 | Neil Innes | Album | Nearly Really | Innes Music | £23,000 withheld by PledgeMusic | |
| 2018 | John Zorn | Album | The Book Beri'ah | Tzadik | Money withheld by PledgeMusic | |
| 2018 | Men at Work | Album | Men at Work: You Better Take Cover | PledgeMusic | ||
| July 2018 | Willie Nile | Album | Children of Paradise | River House Records | ||
| May 2017 | Toploader | Album | Seeing Stars | Big Lake Music | ||
| April 2017 | While She Sleeps | Album | You Are We | Sleeps Brothers Records - Self Released | ||
| January 2017 | Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker | Album | "New World Alphabet" | Independent | ||
| 2017 | "Weird Al" Yankovic | Other | Legacy Recordings | |||
| 2017 | Aly & AJ | EP | Ten Years | Aly & AJ Music, LLC | ||
| October 2016 | Justin Guarini | EP | JG | PledgeMusic | ||
| 2017 | Erasure | Album | World Be Gone | Mute | ||
| 2016 | Demon Hunter | Album | Outlive | Solid State Records | ||
| 2016 | Marillion | Album | Fuck Everyone and Run | Intact/EarMusic | ||
| Unreleased | Culture Club | Album | Tribes | Different Man/Kobalt | The album was shelved in 2016 and refunds given. | |
| October 2016 | Sum 41 | Album | 13 Voices | Hopeless Records | ||
| - | Esmee Denters | Album | New EP | PledgeMusic | "Project was closed before goal was reached." | |
| 2015 | Failure | Album | The Heart Is a Monster | INgrooves | ||
| 2015 | Christian Death | Album | The Root of All Evilution | PledgeMusic | ||
| - | Dweezil Zappa | Album | PledgeMusic | - | ||
| May 2015 | Ash | Album | "Kablammo!" | Atomic Heart Records | - | |
| - | Shayne Ward | Album | "Closer" | PledgeMusic | - | |
| - | Macy Gray | Album | The Way | PledgeMusic | - | |
| - | Plain White T's | Album | American Nights | PledgeMusic | - | |
| - | Guster | Live Album | Nettwerk | - | ||
| - | Black Veil Brides | Album | "Black Veil Brides IV" | Universal/Republic | - | |
| - | Unlocking the Truth | Debut EP | RED Associated Labels | - | ||
| - | RX Bandits | Album | "Gemini, Her Majesty" | INgrooves | - | |
| October 2015 | The Zombies | Album | "Still Got That Hunger" | The End Records | - | |
| September 2015 | David Cook | Album | "Digital Vein" | Analog Heart Music / INgrooves | - | |
| September 2015 | Silversun Pickups | Album | "Better Nature" | New Machine Records | - | |
| 2014 | Erasure | Album | The Violet Flame | Mute | - | |
| June 2014 | Echo & the Bunnymen | Album | "Meteorites" | 429 | - | |
| - | Rufus Wainwright | Album | "Prima Donna" | Independent | - | |
| - | Matt Pond | Album | "State of Gold" | BMG Rights Management | - | |
| - | The Birthday Massacre | Album | "Superstition" | Metropolis | - | |
| - | Chali 2na | EP | "Against The Current" | Independent | - | |
| December 2014 | Dexys | Album | "Nowhere Is Home" | Absolute Marketing and Distribution | - | |
| December 2014 | The Enemy | Album | "Dancing All Night" | Cooking Vinyl | - | |
| November 2014 | The Vines | Album | "Wicked Nature" | Wicked Nature | - | |
| November 2014 | Terri Clark | Album | Baretrack Records / EMI | - | ||
| November 2014 | Weezer | Album | "Everything Will Be Alright in the End" | Universal/Republic | - | |
| November 2014 | Interpol | Album | "El Pintor" | PIAS Entertainment Group | - | |
| October 2014 | Mobb Deep | Album | "The Infamous Mobb Deep" | Infamous Records | - | |
| October 2014 | Antigone Rising | Album | "Whiskey & Wine " | Independent | - | |
| October 2014 | Jack Strify | Album | "ILLUSION" | Independent | - | |
| June 2014 | Sponge | Tour | Endless Summer Tour | Independent | - | |
| June 2014 | Sevendust | Album | "Time Travelers & Bonfires" | 7Bros Records | - | |
| June 2014 | Peter Murphy | Album | "" | Nettwerk | - | |
| June 2014 | K.Flay | Album | "Life As A Dog" | Independent | - | |
| June 2014 | Klaxons | Album | "Love Frequency" | RED | - | |
| May 2014 | The Clarks | Album | "Feathers & Bones" | Independent | - | |
| May 2014 | Lindsey Stirling | Album | "Shatter Me" | Lindseystomp | - | |
| May 2014 | Buzzcocks | Album | "The Way" | Cooking Vinyl | - | |
| May 2014 | Devin Townsend | Album | "Casualties of Cool" | - | ||
| May 2014 | Peter Andre | Album | "Big Night" | Independent | - | |
| April 2014 | Blake Lewis | Album | "Portrait of a Chameleon" | INgrooves | - | |
| April 2014 | Steel Panther | Album | "All You Can Eat" | Kobalt | - | |
| April 2014 | The Babys | Album | "I'll Have Some Of That!" | All In Time Records | - | |
| April 2014 | Joan Osborne | Album | "Love and Hate" | Membran | - | |
| April 2014 | Dan Wilson | Album | "Love Without Fear" | Kobalt | - | |
| March 2014 | 311 | Album | "Stereolithic" | INgrooves | ||
| March 2014 | Natives | Album | "Indoor War" | Transmission Recordings | - | |
| March 2014 | Kate Miller-Heidke | Album | "O Vertigo!" | Cooking Vinyl | - | |
| March 2014 | Tokyo Police Club | Album | "Forcefield" | Mom + Pop | - | |
| March 2014 | Stiff Little Fingers | Album | "No Going Back" | Rigid Digits | - | |
| February 2014 | The Presidents of the USA | Album | "Kudos to You!" | PUSA Inc. | - | |
| February 2014 | Reverend and The Makers | Album | "ThirtyTwo" | Cooking Vinyl | - | |
| February 2014 | Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker | EP | "Advanced Basics" | Independent | - | |
| January 2014 | The Hold Steady | EP | "The Unified Scene" | Razor & Tie | ||
| January 2014 | The Rifles | Album | "None the Wiser" | Cooking Vinyl | - | |
| January 2014 | Hard-Fi | Album | "" | Warner | - | |
| December 2013 | Flyleaf | Album | "Between The Stars" | Loud and Proud Records | - | |
| November 2013 | Mike Doughty | Album | "Circles, Super Bon Bon, and The Very Best Of Soul Coughing" | Independent | - | |
| November 2013 | Apocalyptica | Album | "Wagner Reloaded" | RCA | - | |
| November 2013 | Umphrey's McGee | Live Album | "" | Nothing Too Fancy Music | - | |
| October 2013 | Slash | Album | "Nothing Left to Fear " | - | ||
| September 2013 | Katatonia | Album | "Dethroned & Uncrowned" | Burning Shed | - | |
| September 2013 | Lissie | Album | "Back to Forever" | Columbia Fat Possum | - | |
| August 2013 | Juliana Hatfield | Album | "Wild Animals" | Ye Olde Records | - | |
| June 2013 | Sam Duckworth | Album | "Amazing Grace" | Independent | - | |
| May 2013 | Donots | Live DVD/Album | "Wake the States" | Solitary Man | - | |
| April 2013 | Bring Me the Horizon | Album | "Sempiternal" | RCA | - | |
| April 2013 | The Whybirds | Album | "A Little Blood" | The Little Red Recording Company | - | |
| March 2013 | IAMX | Album | "The Unified Field" | 61seconds Records | - | |
| March 2013 | Kate Nash | Album | Girl Talk" | INgrooves | - | |
| December 2012 | Ian McCulloch | Album | "Pro Patria Mori" | Independent | - | |
| November 2012 | Kissy Sell Out | Album | "San City High ALL STARS" | San City High Records | - | |
| October 2012 | LCD Soundsystem | DVD | "Shut Up and Play the Hits" | DFA | - | |
| August 2012 | Kill It Kid | EP | "Rarities" | Independent | - | |
| July 2012 | Ginger Wildheart | Album | "Hey! Hello!" | Round Records | - | |
| July 2012 | Ginger Wildheart | Album | "Mutations/Mutations 2" | Round Records | - | |
| April 2012 | The Libertines | DVD | "There Are No Innocent Bystanders" | Absolute | - | |
| March 2012 | The Infamous Stringdusters | Album | "Silver Sky" | High Country Recordings | - | |
| October 2011 | The Lumineers | Other | Dualtone | - | ||
| September 2011 | Crystal Fighters | Deluxe Album | "Star of Love" | Independent | - | |
| September 2011 | The Subways | Album | "Money and Celebrity" | Independent | - | |
| September 2011 | Art Brut | Album | "Brilliant! Tragic!" | Cooking Vinyl Downtown | - | |
| December 2010 | Madina Lake | EP | "The Dresden Codex" | Independent | - | |
| July 2010 | Ginger Wildheart | Album | "555% " | Round Records | - | |
| May 2010 | Kopecky Family Band | Album | "The Disaster" | ATO Records | - | |
| 2016 | Blind Pilot | Album | "And Then Like Lions" | ATO Records | - | |
| May 2010 | Princess Superstar | Album | "The New Evolution" | Independent | - |
Charts
Some albums backed via PledgeMusic have charted, including:- Stiff Little Fingers - No Going Back - #1 in UK Rock Album Charts - #28 in UK Album Charts
- Ginger Wildheart - 100% - #27 in the UK
- Charlie Simpson - When We Were Lions - #6 in the UK
- Ben Folds Five - The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind - #10 on the Billboard Top 200
- The Subways - Money and Celebrity - #16 in Germany, #43 in the UK
- Bring Me The Horizon - Sempiternal - #3 in the UK, #1 in Australia
- Lindsey Stirling - Shatter Me - #2 on the Billboard Top 200, #1 in both Classical and EDM
- Sevendust - Time Travelers and Bonfires - #19 in the US
- Kate Miller-Heidke - O Vertigo! - #3 in Australia
- 311 - Stereolithic - #6 on the Billboard Top 200
- Mindi Abair - #1 on the Billboard Jazz chart
- Casey Crescenzo - #2 on the Billboard Classical chart
- The Puppini Sisters - The High Life - #1 debut on the UK iTunes Jazz Chart, #3 debut US iTunes Jazz Chart
- The String Cheese Incident — #1 Billboard Heatseekers, #4 Vinyl
- Thomas Rhett - #1 Billboard 200
- Gary Numan — #2 in the UK
- Rhydian - One Day Like This - #19 in UK Album Charts
- The Rifles - None the Wiser - #21 in UK Album Charts
Partnerships
- Myspace
- SonicBids
- SoundOut
- Lyric Financial
- Nimbit
- Topspin Media
- Artist Growth
- Firebrand
- INgrooves Fontana
- Inertia
- INDMusic
- The Agency Group
PledgeMusic has hosted showcases with CMJ.
Awards
PledgeMusic was nominated for the 2010 BT Digital Music Awards in the category "Best Innovation or Gadget".PledgeMusic was nominated for the 2011 Music Week Awards in the category "Consumer-Facing Digital Music Service of the Year".
PledgeMusic was nominated for the 2011 BT Digital Music Awards in the category "Best Innovation or Gadget".
PledgeMusic was noted as one of Billboard's "Five digital startups to watch in 2013".
PledgeMusic won the Grammy Music Technology Lab in 2013.
PledgeMusic was nominated for SoundCtrl's 2013 Best in Artist Support award.
PledgeMusic was nominated for the American Association of Independent Music 2013 Annual Libera Awards 21st Century Award – celebrating the service provider or platform that was most beneficial to Independent labels and artists.
Co-founders Benji Rogers and Malcolm Dunbar were named to The Hospital Club 100 list in 2013 in the category of Music.
Benji Rogers, founder and president of PledgeMusic, won A&R Worldwide's International Music Industry Awards' Distinguished Digital Executive of the Year, 2014