PledgeMusic’s president and COO Malcolm Dunbar has told Music Week that the troubled platform remains an important outlet for the physical sector.
Speaking in the latest issue of Music Week, the UK-based exec has urged the biz to help PledgeMusic get “back on track”. Dunbar, a co-founder of the company, has held various senior roles since it launched a decade ago.
Over the past fortnight, it’s emerged that artists on the D2C platform have not been paid money they are owed. Current and recent PledgeMusic campaigns include albums from Jesus Jones, Sleeper and The Dandy Warhols. It helped secure Top 10 albums for acts including The Damned, The Wombats and Gary Numan.
PledgeMusic is now seeking a buyer as it aims to pay artists within 90 days.
All of us at the company are working round the clock and are hopeful that we can reach a positive resolution soon
Malcolm Dunbar
“On behalf of PledgeMusic I want to personally apologise to everyone who has yet to receive any monies owed to them,” Dunbar told Music Week. “A lot of these artists, managers and labels are people I have worked with for many years and I am determined to do everything I can to resolve this. All of us at the company are working round the clock and are hopeful that we can reach a positive resolution soon.”
As well as independent artists, PledgeMusic works with major and independent labels as a physical music outlet for CDs, vinyl and deluxe editions. Recent releases include albums by U2, The Cardigans and Rod Stewart.
“We truly believe that PledgeMusic is a game-changing platform within the global music industry allowing artists and labels to create a uniquely intimate relationship with fans and a powerful route to market,” said Dunbar. “At a time when music retailers are coming under increasing pressure, and in some cases disappearing, we would ask everyone, if they can, to please allow us to fully focus on getting things back on track.”
PledgeMusic is now working with an independent third-party to manage all artist funds.
“Everybody at PledgeMusic is fully committed to helping restore trust and confidence in our company,” added Dunbar.
To read the full Music Week report on PledgeMusic, subscribers can click here. To subscribe and never miss a big industry story click here.
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