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Business News Digital
PledgeMusic website goes offline, company’s future still unclear
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 29 July 2019
PledgeMusic’s website was taken offline last week. In its place is simple text statement, which is pretty much what was previously said back in May, providing little indication regarding the company’s future.
That statement reads: “To the artists and fans of PledgeMusic, as many of you know, PledgeMusic suspended operations a number of months ago and the site is now offline. 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. All data has been preserved and a notice with next steps will be posted on here shortly”.
This latest development only adds to the continued uncertainty for artists who were using the pre-order and crowdfunding platform before it ceased operations earlier this year.
PledgeMusic admitted last October that it was experiencing financial issues, but said that it had made internal changes in order to overcome this. Earlier this year, as artists continued to complain of delayed payments, the company confirmed that it was still facing problems. Co-founder Benji Rogers then returned to advise on navigating a way forward, but initial optimism about this dissipated when all payments were suspended in February.
Since then, the company and the artists owed money (along with other creditors) have been in limbo. It was hoped that a buyer could be found to get Pledge up and running again. However, when negotiations with a potential deal fell through in May, Rogers announced that the company would be heading into administration.
Nearly three months later, the company has still not begun the administration process. Last month, Pledge said that it was still hoping to find a new owner, although it was nevertheless expecting to go into administration in order for this transfer to take place.
That the website has now been taken offline may be an indication that there has been some sort of development. Although, equally, it may just have been decided that five months after ceasing operations, it looked odd to have a website promoting active campaigns.
Meanwhile, the artists left out of pocket in all of this, many of whom have been unable to complete the projects they were raising money for as a result, remain largely in the dark about whether they will ever see any of their cash.
