After warning artists to download their assets, PledgeMusic has pulled the plug.
PledgeMusic is now orchestrating the digital equivalent of disappearing in the middle of the night. After freezing its website several months ago and urging artists to back up their assets, the site has now been completely taken down.
The only thing that remains is a vague message from the PledgeMusic board.
To the Artists and Fans of PledgeMusic.
As many of you know, PledgeMusic suspended operations a number of months ago. The company continues to work with outside counsel on the most appropriate next steps, and we will update you with those specifics as we get more information.
PledgeMusic Board
Exactly how the board is planning to ‘update’ artists and fans on ‘appropriate next steps’ is unclear, though most likely, there isn’t another word from the company.
The pulldown follows a blog post from original PledgeMusic founder Benji Rogers in May. Rogers explained that the company had officially entered into administration, the UK equivalent of bankruptcy. Initially, Rogers promised to work with artist and fans to get them the money pledged to them by fans, though that section of the blog post was quickly removed.
“I went back into PledgeMusic just over three months ago as a volunteer to try and help the board and team turn around and sell the company, but I am sad to report that this effort has not met with success and that PledgeMusic will shortly be heading into administration,” Rogers offered in the statement.
In this paragraph, the second sentence (in bold) was erased: “The company will go into administration at some point this week or early next which means that any funds received for the assets of Pledge will be distributed to all of the creditors involved. This will include all of the artists who are owed money.”
Shortly after the company entered into administration, an ex-employee confidentially shared damning details of how PledgeMusic executives and staffers knowingly lied to artists and pledgers. “A&R and Campaign Managers were only told to ‘launch launch launch’ new campaigns so that payments could be distributed to other projects,” the source relayed.
“They very well knew that they were unable to pay artists, but needed to launch new campaigns to gain more revenue. Employees knew that this was not ethical, but at the end of the day had no choice.”
Now, artists seem to be left without much recourse. Groups including Queensrÿche, say they are owed $70,000 in fan donations. Sadly, those stories are just the beginning of a long list of affected groups, with several smaller artists facing serious financial difficulties following PledgeMusic’s non-payments.
None of this is uplifting stuff, and industry sources note that PledgeMusic executives and board members could be guilty of financial fraud, embezzlement, and other malfeasance. At present, none have been charged.
Here’s a list of the Board of Directors past and present. All of this information is publicly available.
Present (Active) Directors.
5 current officers
IENNER, Donald
Correspondence address: 22 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AD
Role: ACTIVE
Director
Date of birth: October 1951
Appointed on: 8 June 2017
Nationality: American
Country of residence: United States
Occupation: Investor
RIEGER, Russell
Correspondence address: Magna, 40 Wall Street, Floor 58, New York, United States, 10005
Role: ACTIVE
Director
Date of birth: May 1959
Appointed on: 14 January 2015
Nationality: American
Country of residence: United States Of American/New York
Occupation: Investor
ROWE, Daniel
Correspondence address: 90 Nassau Street, Princeton, Nj, United States, 08542
Role ACTIVE
Director
Date of birth: January 1973
Appointed on: 8 June 2017
Nationality: American
Country of residence: United States
Occupation: Financial Adviser
SASON, Joshua
Correspondence address: Magna, 40 Wall Street, Floor 58, New York, United States, 10005
Role: ACTIVE
Director
Date of birth: April 1987
Appointed on: 17 September 2015
Nationality: American
Country of residence: United States
Occupation: Investor
[Note: Sason was the only board member separately designated as having ‘significant influence or control’ over the company.]
WALSH, David
Correspondence address: 22 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AD
Role ACTIVE
Director
Date of birth: August 1961
Appointed on: 8 June 2017
Nationality: American
Country of residence: United States
Occupation: Investor
Recently Resigned Directors.
2 officers resigned in 2018
LEDBETTER, Nick
Correspondence address: Emerald Investment Partners, 3rd Floor, 96 Kensington High Street, London, England, W8 4SG
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: May 1984
Appointed on: 17 June 2016
Resigned on: 12 June 2018
Nationality: Irish
Country of residence: United Kingdom
Occupation: Chartered Accountant
ROGERS, Benji Kip
Correspondence address: 22 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AD.
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: February 1974
Appointed on: 1 October 2008
Resigned on: 28 February 2018
Nationality: American, British
Country of residence: United Kingdom
Occupation: Musician
Previously Resigned Directors (earlier than 2018).
10 officers resigned before 2018
O’NEILL, Jonathan Adrian
Correspondence address: 22 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AD
Role: RESIGNED
Secretary
Appointed on: 1 February 2015
Resigned on: 22 September 2015
SELBY, Rupert Spencer
Correspondence address: 63-65, Broadway Market, London, E8 4PH
Role: RESIGNED
Secretary
Appointed on: 1 October 2008
Resigned on: 1 January 2015
Nationality: English
DONALDSON, Angus David
Correspondence address: Pledge Music 22, Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AD
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: April 1966
Appointed on: 1 June 2011
Resigned on: 17 September 2015
Nationality: British
Country of residence: United Kingdom
Occupation: None
DUNBAR, Malcolm
Correspondence address: Pledge Music 22, Endell Street, London, Uk, WC2H 9AD
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: June 1955
Appointed on: 21 May 2013
Resigned on: 17 September 2015
Nationality: British
Country of residence: United Kingdom
Occupation: None
HACKETT, David
Correspondence address: Pledge Music 22, Endell Street, London, Uk, WC2H 9AD
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: April 1976
Appointed on: 21 May 2013
Resigned on: 1 September 2015
Nationality: Irish
Country of residence: UK
Occupation: None
MCINTOSH, William Alan
Correspondence address: Pledge Music 22, Endell Street, London, Uk, WC2H 9AD
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: November 1967
Appointed on: 21 May 2013
Resigned on: 16 July 2014
Nationality: British
Country of residence: England
Occupation: None
RUTHERFORD, James
Correspondence address: The Old Rectory, Saintbury, Broadway, Worcestershire, Saintbury, Broadway, Worcestershire, England, WR12 7PX
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: July 1959
Appointed on: 29 July 2015
Resigned on: 17 September 2015
Nationality: British
Country of residence: England
Occupation: Company Director
SKEET, Mike Charles
Correspondence address: 27-29, Cursitor Street, London, Uk, EC4A 1LT
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: March 1968
Appointed on: 21 May 2013
Resigned on: 17 September 2015
Nationality: British
Country of residence: United Kingdom
Occupation: None
TOSATTO, Jann
Correspondence address: Sint Olofssteeg 4-A, 1012 Ak Amsterdam, Netherlands
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: March 1978
Appointed on: 1 October 2008
Resigned on: 21 May 2013
Nationality: German
Country of residence: Netherlands
Occupation: Lawyer
VARDEN, Jayce Henri
Correspondence address: 936 Main Street Floor 2, Waltham Ma 02451, United States
Role: RESIGNED
Director
Date of birth: August 1973
Appointed on: 1 October 2008
Resigned on: 17 September 2015
Nationality: American
Country of residence: United States
Occupation: General Manager