Once upon a time, major labels like Sony Music Entertainment kept their accounting methods close to the vest — very close the vest. Indeed, royalty audits and contentious lawsuits were once a normal event at major label groups — including Sony Music En…
Author archives: Paul Resnikoff
PledgeMusic’s Board Breaks Its Silence as Criminal Charges Loom
The company’s board had previously remained silent during PledgeMusic’s slide into bankruptcy. Now, that’s changing as the company faces potentially serious investigations for financial fraud, embezzlement, and other criminal activities. On the PledgeM…
Woodstock 50 Finds a Deep-Pocketed Investor — But Is This Really Such a Good Idea?
Earlier, a federal judge ruled that Woodstock 50 wasn’t cancelled after all. Now, there’s an investor willing to keep the show alive. And who is that deep-pocketed Woodstock sugar-daddy, you ask? The answer is Oppenheimer & Co., which was swayed t…
After Selling Its Last Magazine, Legendary NME Has a Brand-New Owner
If you want to date yourself, one way is to wax about the articles you’ve read in NME. And there are some great articles. But the storied British music pub released its last paper edition last year, thanks to predictable profitability issues in the dig…
Facebook’s Ticketing Platform Is Officially Live — With 700 Million Potential Users
Facebook says its Events platform is used by roughly 700 million users a month. Now, Facebook’s widely-used event coordination service will feature a paid ticketing option. Powering the backend is Eventbrite, which helped to democratize the event tick…
Vinyl Me, Please Reinvents the Box Set With a Blue Note Anthology — Enter to Win a Copy!
The box set remains the ultimate collector’s item, though Vinyl Me, Please is radically updating the concept. Box sets are a delicious deep-dive for superfans. But are they out of date? Now, vinyl subscription service Vinyl Me, Please is tinkering wit…
I’m a Former PledgeMusic Employee. Allow Me to Spill a Few Beans…
What really happened at PledgeMusic? Here’s an email from a former employee, received earlier this week. Last week, PledgeMusic announced its intentions to declare bankruptcy, while offering no assurances that unpaid artist balances — potentially in t…
PledgeMusic Cofounder Benji Rogers Quietly Steps Aside at AMLC as Bankruptcy Fallout Continues
PledgeMusic cofounder Benji Rogers left the crowdfunding company before the serious issues started surfacing. But that may not matter. Perhaps foolishly, Rogers opted to return to PledgeMusic as financial issues started worsening. During the turbulen…
Woodstock 50 Investors Explain Why They Pulled Their $18 Million — And Why This Festival’s Not Gonna Happen
Permits still haven’t been obtained, according to exiting investor Dentsu Aegis. If there was any hope of Woodstock 50 happening in early August, this should extinguish that flame. In legal filings today, former Woodstock 50 investor Dentsu Aegis blunt…
Rolling Loud’s Active Shooter Scare Was a False Alarm — Here’s a Statement from the Festival
The Rolling Loud Festival is recovering from an active shooter scare over the weekend. Thankfully, there wasn’t an active shooter at the Miami mega-event. But at some point during the festivities Friday night, reports of a gun-wielding assailant trigg…