Australian PledgeMusic users should be concerned over liquidation reports

Australian artists who’ve been waiting since last year to be paid by crowd-funding platform PledgeMusic have more reasons to be concerned.

Overseas reports by Digital Music News and Variety report that PledgeMusic was once a lifeline for Australian acts, as it was for those around the globe.

Among those who had successful campaigns on it were Kate Miller-Heidke, The Vines, Men At Work, Peter Andre and the one by 2013 SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) which went 148% over its target.

By 2014, PledgeMusic was saying that it had raised US$32 million from pledges from half a million donors, and had a 90% strike rate.

Kickstarter’s, in comparison, was nearly 55%.

On May 3, Digital Music News leaked an email from UK firm FRP Advisory LLP which was due to be appointed as administrators for the winding up of PledgeMusic.com and was finding a buyer for all or some of the platform

Sources told Variety this week that while the company was talking to a buyer, PledgeMusic would go into administration on Friday, May 10 if the sale had not been finalised.

A source told Variety that the pre-administration email on Digital Music News might have been leaked by someone trying to kill the sale to get piecemeal assets for cheaper.

PledgeMusic has suspended, all projects and campaigns, and there are no employees on the payroll, although a few ex-employees have stayed on as consultants.