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UK Music calls for government investigation into PledgeMusic collapse
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 13 May 2019
UK Music has called for PledgeMusic to be investigated by the Competition And Markets Authority. This follows the news that the fan-funding and pre-order company is heading into administration, potentially leaving artists who raised money via the platform collectively out of pocket to the tune of millions.
In a letter to the government’s Minister For Small Business, Consumers And Corporate Responsibility – that’s Kelly Tolhurst – UK Music CEO Michael Dugher writes: “These artists were already enduring long delays in receiving payments. As a consequence, creators who used PledgeMusic’s services are likely to lose money if it goes into administration without resolving its outstanding debts”.
“Musicians should be able to trust crowdfunding platforms to fulfil their obligation of delivering money pledged by fans and supporters”, he goes on. “I would therefore ask that you refer PledgeMusic to the CMA to ensure that this matter is properly investigated”.
PledgeMusic co-founder Benji Rogers announced last week that the company was heading into administration, after an acquisition fell through. Rogers returned to the company on a voluntary basis in January – having left his position as CEO in 2017 – to attempt to overcome the firm’s ongoing financial issues, which led to artists not receiving the money that they had raised via the platform.
All artist payments were then suspended, pending a deal to save the company. Last month it was reported that a potential agreement to sell the business was still in the works, but last week Rogers announced that that acquisition had fallen through. This leaves artists who have not been paid the money they raised through Pledge unsure if they will ever see any of it. Outstanding artist payments are estimated at between one and three million dollars.
