PledgeMusic, a direct-to-consumer crowdfunding company, has responded to numerous complaints that the delay of payments made to artists is “unacceptable.” The statement follows another admittance from the company that they are having issues processing payments and that they have to call in financial specialists.
The company goes on to say that they “deeply regret” their mistakes and they have asked for “continued support and patience.”
As reported by MusicWeek, some of the artists who have worked with PledgeMusic include U2, Rod Stewart, The Dandy Warhols, Razorlight, The Wombats, and Frank Turner.
PledgeMusic has been around since 2009 and, in their own words, provides “unique experiences, offerings, and limited edition collectibles” from artists to their fans. A great concept, but as we’re seeing with these revelations, the execution failed. I do find it interesting how, with the famous artists mentioned above, that they seem to be delaying payments for lesser-known talent, who need the funds and support much more. Of course, payments are probably being delayed from bigger names too, but this has the potential to shake trust between independent artists and online distribution services.
According to MusicWeek, PledgeMusic has said that they have launched more than 45,000 projects since their founding in 2009. The failure of the company being able to pay artists on this grand of a scale can ruin them. One of the worst things that can happen to a company is losing the trust of their customers and I believe that there is a good chance that PledgeMusic will not fully recover from this. Who knows, maybe they’ll collapse completely, or some music business exec will buy it and attempt to turn things around, as that seems a popular thing to do nowadays.
The next couple of days and potentially weeks will be very telling about the future of PledgeMusic and how deep this rabbit hole goes.
Absolute Music 