(Hypebot) — Two copies of a PledgeMusic presentation apparently designed to attract investors show that the crowdfunder lost nearly $11 million dollars between 2016 and 2018, despite generating more than $77 million in revenue during the same period. Weird Al Yankovic sold $1.45 million worth of music and merchandise using the platform, according to the document.
The two copies of the PledgeMusic pitch decks reviewed by Hypebot show a company bleeding cash, despite have completed 50,000 crowdfunding and pre-sale campaigns and 27% year-over-year growth. Sources familiar with PledgeMusic have confirmed that the company had created similar presentations and that these appear to be authentic.
The presentation dated May 2018 lists Dominic Pandiscia as CEO. He ran the company from April 2016 thru the fall of 2018, and some accuse him of creating or exacerbating PledgeMusic’s financial problems.
An unverified email sent to Hypebot from an individual claiming to be a PledgeMusic employee who exited earlier this year said that the CEO spent lavishly, including $500,000 for a SXSW sponsorship and moving the NYC team from a cheap co-working space into expensive offices.
Just prior to Pandiscia joining, PledgeMusic acquired both Noisetrade and Set.fm. Noisetrade was recently sold to Paste Media and Set.fm was acquired by VNUE in February of 2018
The deck shows PledgeMusic losing $5,169,669 in 2016, $4,008,092 in 2017 and an estimated $1,703,990 in 2018 for a total of $10.88 million.
A second copy of the deck uploaded on February 27, 2019, lists Dan Rowe as CEO and Managing Director in the title. Rowe is also the Founder and Managing Director of investment bankers Sword Rowe which has a substantial financial relationship with PledgeMusic.
500,000 Campaigns With An Average Purchase of $57
The same presentation shows that the crowd funder had completed more than 50,000 campaigns with an average purchase of $57. Gross revenue was up 27% and the platform claimed 3.5 million registered fans. One slide shows Weird Al Yankovic selling $1.45 million worth of music and merchandise using PledgeMusic,
