PledgeMusic reportedly owes its artists thousands of dollars

January 24, 2019

Direct-to-fan music outpost PledgeMusic is coming under scrutiny after a new Billboard report exposes the platform’s apparent money mismanagement.

Once considered a beacon crowdfunding destination for many well-known and underground music artists, PledgeMusic reportedly owes those same musicians thousands of dollars. This, after an internal shakeup failed to correct the company’s ongoing carelessness with fan funds funneled through the platform via its artists’ crowdfunding campaigns.

Electro-industrial band ohGr—foremost named as one of the maligned artists—is still owed nearly $100,000 and “struggling to access money it needs to manufacture merchandise fans have already purchased,” according to the report.

Due to its appearance as a “a safe place for supporters’ funds to be held while the project was being produced,” according to ohGr member Mark Walk, they chose PledgeMusic for their fundraising needs over similar crowdfunding services.

TrickS, the band’s fifth full-length, was recorded after the group raised $20,000 in the first few days of their recent PledgeMusic campaign. But the company reportedly became unresponsive about payments after ohGr delivered the album.

To add insult to injury, PledgeMusic also failed to deliver the band’s phsyical goods in time for promised distribution to supporters, per Billboard. ohGr released their album digitally on July 18 and went on tour without physical copies to sell.

The act led by fellow Skinny Puppy founder Nivek Ogre joins artists as disparate as Fastball, Incendiendo, HuDost, Ill Vibe, Mike Evin and Amanda Duncan in being owed “outstanding sums ranging from $50 to $100,000.”

Before the story went to press, Walk says he threatened PledgeMusic with going public about the company’s money misdeeds. An employee reportedly responded to the musician and producer, “Do you really think anyone would care?”