Townsend Music, the leading direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform, has been providing its artist clients with a new revenue stream during the pandemic by capturing their livestreamed shows on record.

The platform, which hosts over 1,000 artist D2C stores, has been converting its clients’ livestream recordings into one-off, collectable vinyl to be sold exclusively through the stores.

In December, British rock band The Darkness delivered a livestreamed concert from Indigo at the O2, London, in conjunction with Townsend, Live Here Now, AEG and Dice.

The ticketed performance, which took place under the banner of ‘Streaming of A White Christmas’, was transformed into a brand new live album, presented as a deluxe triple ‘sparkle green’ heavy vinyl with booklets and a deluxe double CD for £40 and £20 respectively – generating not one, but two income streams for the band.

“These campaigns have been a huge success and they’ve provided the artists with decent revenue streams and strong data”

Similarly, Townsend packaged Embrace’s greatest hits concert, livestreamed from their own studio during the pandemic, into a triple-coloured vinyl dubbed ‘Best Of Live From The Cellar Of Dreams’ which was informed by a fan-powered setlist.

“These campaigns have been a huge success and really enjoyable to put together. They’ve provided the artists with decent revenue streams and strong data capture,” says Bruce McKenzie, sales director at Townsend Music.

“It’s also been great to pay over some of the money to the band’s crew who are such an important part of the team who have been hit the hardest during lockdown.”

The company has also organised other exclusive D2C live albums using archive material from artists including Supergrass, James, Shed Seven and Bryan Ferry.

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Direct-to-consumer (D2C) commerce specialist Townsend Music has hired PledgeMusic’s former head of acquisitions, Ben James, as its new business manager.

Townsend, which provides online shopping platforms direct to fans, also operates in the live arena with pop-up shops and the ‘D2C On Tour’ campaign, selling album pre-orders at live shows.

The company’s new business manager started his career at Nude Records, working with Suede, Ultrasound and Lowhold. James later set up his own promotions and artist management business, putting on events with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Jack Savoretti, Lianne La Havas and Manchester Orchestra.

He also held a position in Live Nation’s festival and brand partnerships division, before working with artists including Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Orbital, José González, The Wombats and Stone Sour at PledgeMusic, the artist-to-fan marketplace that was wound up earlier this year.

“I look forward to expanding Townsend’s reach around the world and bringing artists, managers and labels that I respect to the table”

“I’m excited to join Townsend at a time when D2C has become all the more important to artists’ careers and labels’ release plans,” says James.

“Having everything under one roof is a big factor for me – it means everything runs smoothly and efficiently. I look forward to expanding Townsend’s reach around the world and bringing artists, managers and labels that I respect to the table.”

Townsend sales director Bruce McKenzie adds: “It’s great to be able to bring Ben to Townsend. He has a lot of experience across a variety of sectors including D2C. His knowledge and insight will be really beneficial to both our team and our clients.”

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in D2C this year, Townsend works with artist clients including Tom Walker, Kylie, Courteeners, Dido, the Darkness and Camila Cabello.

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Direct-to-fan marketplace PledgeMusic has announced it is in talks with “several interested parties” regarding a potential partnership or acquisition. The company admitted to owing significant sums of money to multiple artists last week.

The PledgeMusic board and management released a statement today, announcing discussions with parties wanting to enter into a partnership with PledgeMusic, or acquire the company.

“These conversations , if successful, would lead to a transaction which would allow us to meet all of our outstanding obligations. As a result, we are hopeful that, as long as the company is given some breathing space to operate, a solution to these current problems will be found,” reads the statement.

The company is also in “advanced discussions with an independent third-party company” that will take control of “all artist funds going forward.”

PledgeMusic co-founder, Benji Rogers, has returned to the company as a volunteer strategic advisor and observer to the board of directors.

“For a lot of you patience must be wearing very thin, but we can only reiterate that we are fully focused on making this situation right”

“Benji will assist and advise the new management and finance team on the inherited and existing issues, as well as with the forward planning for the company,” says the PledgeMusic board.

Rogers comments: “I am convinced that they [PledgeMusic management team and board] are committed to fixing the artists payments situation as their first priority. I have seen first hand how tirelessly the team, management and board have been working to right the ship and that is why I have agreed to help where I can.”

PledgeMusic owes thousands to artists who have raised funds through its platform, a situation the company has called “unacceptable”.

The PledgeMusic team states that its priority is to settle all remaining back payments owed to artists and asks for “patience”:

“We know that for a lot of you this must be wearing very thin, but we can only reiterate that we are fully focused on making this situation right.”

The full statement can be read here.

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The artist-to-fan marketplace PledgeMusic is behind on payments to multiple artists who have raised funds through its platform, prompting criticism from the music community.

Reports started to circulate that PledgeMusic was failing to pay musicians on time in June last year. Multiple prominent artists are now owed large sums of money from the company.

In September, chief executive Dominic Pandiscia stepped down from his position and the company reshuffled the senior management team, pointing to new investors.

Music industry pundit Bob Lefsetz brought attention to the issues this week, writing that American rock band Fastball “can’t get paid”. PledgeMusic reportedly owes the band US$20,000.

Over 25 artists and agents responded to the letter, citing similar grievances.

PledgeMusic issued a statement stating it is “committed to serving artist and fan communities”.

“We deeply regret that recently we have not lived up to the high standards to which PledgeMusic has always held itself”

“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.”

The company states that it expects to bring payments up-to-date within the next 90 days.

PledgeMusic cofounder Benji Rogers, who left the company in 2016, apologises to artists and fans: “To the artists, their teams, managers, labels and fans, and to all who have been negatively affected by the issues at PledgeMusic, I am truly sorry.”

PledgeMusic was founded in 2009 by Benji Rogers and Jayce Varden. The platform aimed to connect fans directly with artists, facilitating the sale of tickets, vinyl, CDs and merchandise without the need for a middleman.

Fans also contributed towards recording costs through a crowdfunding service and received regular updates on artists’ progress.

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Bruce McKenzie, sales director of leading D2C (direct-to-consumer) company Townsend Music, has said Townsend’s D2C on Tour solution has the potential to revolutionise how albums are sold, following a successful Download Festival debut this summer.

D2C on Tour launched last spring, starting with a partnership with Mike + the Mechanics, which McKenzie credits with giving the Mike Rutherford-led outfit its first top-ten album for a quarter of a century. “They played 40 dates, and we sold a couple of thousand CDs on the road,” McKenzie tells IQ, “and the Mechanics had their first top-ten album in 25 years.”

Unlike traditional album-ticket bundles – where a copy of the record (physical or digital) is bundled with a ticket at the point of purchase – D2C on Tour utilises a venue’s merch stand(s) to sell album redemption cards, frequently in the form of artist-branded laminates, for upcoming releases.

“You can sell albums at gigs,” explains McKenzie, “but if you’re touring ahead of an album release, you can’t usually take album pre-orders. We came up with the idea that – because we run the artists’ online stores – we can add a CD to the basket, generate a code, then sell a laminate containing that code at the shows.”

Crucially, the UK’s Official Charts Company (OCC) counts the sale of these laminates as an album sale – “I went to the OCC and said, ‘It isn’t a forced sale; it’s the same as preordering an album on iTunes’,” says McKenzie – leading to chart successes like Mike + the Mechanics’ aforementioned Let Me Fly, which reached no9 in the UK.

“D2C is how people will consume their [physical] music in future”

“There are a lot of people spending a lot of money on tickets for concerts and festivals, and we feel the album charts should reflect that,” continues McKenzie. “Bands can be in front of thousands of people at a festival, but if they’re unsigned and don’t have the marketing spend, it’s difficult to make an impact on the chart. We think people buying albums at gigs should count.”

Other Townsend D2C clients include Kylie Minogue, Eels, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, the Prodigy, Everything Everything, Echo and the Bunnymen, Tom Misch, Don Broco and You Me at Six.

With Primary-signed You Me at Six – who headlined the second stage at Download 2018 – Townsend sold laminates containing a code which, when redeemed on the Townsend Music website, earns buyers a signed copy of the band’s album VI (released on 5 October) and a signed setlist from their Download performance.

D2C on Tour netted You Me at Six a “couple of hundred extra” sales at Download, says McKenzie. He describes that as a “nice little start”, but says he sees a time when “we’ll be selling more albums on the road [than not]”, as awareness increases among managers, promoters and agents of the potential of Townsend-style bundling.

“If you’re a good band with a good management team, it’s a very exciting time for artists,” he explains. “You look at the high street, and the decline of retail sales, and it’s clear the future is in streaming. So, D2C – that, to me, is how people will consume their [physical] music in future.”

“If lots of rock bands are selling tickets on the road, they should be selling records, too”

The key to success in this brave new world, McKenzie suggests, is in working with a team who “realise where the industry is. If we all work together to help an artist to sell more records, they’ll sell more tickets, more merch, get more PRS [royalties]…”

McKenzie says Download promoter Live Nation was “very supportive” of Townsend’s presence at the festival, while managers are keen to work with the company owing to its demonstrable influence on the album charts. (Another recent project, he adds, was a Rick Astley pop-up shop in a venue, where the CDs sold contributed to Astley’s latest album, Beautiful Life, peaking at no6 in the UK.)

“In the live arena, people say, that’s where you make the money – fine, but let’s find a way you can market records at gigs,” he adds.

Ultimately, if it increases album sales, initiatives like D2C on Tour are a positive for all stakeholders, says McKenzie. “If artists can sell thousands of album pre-orders at shows, they’re going to have a higher charting record and more chance of getting on the radio… And promoters will realise they can sell more tickets if an album is bundled with them, and vice versa.

“If lots of rock bands are selling tickets on the road, they should be selling records, too – and the charts should be fairer and reflect that.”

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