Crowdfunding site PledgeMusic responds after musicians claim they’re not being paid

"We have not lived up to the high standards to which PledgeMusic has always held itself"

Crowdfunding website PledgeMusic has responded after musicians claimed that they weren’t receiving the money that they had fundraised through the website.

Since its formation in 2009, the website has offered a platform for artists to receive funding from their fans for upcoming projects. Artists including Weezer, Sum 41 and Slash have all successfully launched albums using the platform in the past.

As Pitchfork reports, US band OhGr claimed that they were owed $100,000. Fastball also alleged that they were still owed over $21,000.

Now, PledgeMusic has responded for the first time and vowed to directly address the funding problems.

“PledgeMusic has always been committed to serving artist and fan communities. It was established by artists and was born of a need to change the way in which the traditional music industry operated. It was designed to help artists and their teams at every level, and we believe that PledgeMusic has become an essential part of the evolving landscape of the music industry”, a statement confirmed.

“That said, we deeply regret that recently we have not lived up to the high standards to which PledgeMusic has always held itself. We acknowledge that many artists have and continue to experience payment delays. These delays to artists are unacceptable—not only to them, but to us.

“Since its beginning, PledgeMusic has successfully serviced over 45K artists from emerging acts to some of the biggest names in the industry. We’ve supported 60 Grammy-nominated artists and helped springboard 100s of unsigned bands to successful careers. Our efforts have assisted over 375 artists with chart position on the Billboard Top 200. Our platform has provided close to $100m of revenue to its artist community.”

In a follow-up statement, co-founder Benji Rogers vowed to correct the situation despite ending his direct involvement with the company in 2016.

“Once again I am truly sorry to any and all of you who have been harmed as a result of what I made,” he said.

“Please know that I will do all that is within my power to make it right and to fix what I can if given the opportunity to do so.”