With the goal of fully leveraging their Pledge system as an A&R platform, PledgeMusic has launched a record label and publishing company. Indie starlets The Damnwells are the first act to sign on with PledgeMusic Recordings; they will retain all rights, ownership, and publishing. In turn, PledgeMusic Recordings will provide the group with the guidance and expertise that they may have traditionally looked to a label for.

After a site campaign, wherein the group raised close to 200% of their goal, The Damnwells proved the viability of their music. Due to their sophisticated data collection and monitoring, PledgeMusic knew that The Damnwells had a loyal base of followers that were interested in actively supporting their music career.

Thus, signing the group and performing record label like functions for the group is a natural progression for the company. In the past, it was somewhat common for artists to be signed after having really successful campaigns on PledgeMusic.

This time around, PledgeMusic signed The Damnwells themselves, aiming to provide them with access to the toolkits and expertise of the employees at the site. Hypebot will feature an interview with PledgeMusic in the coming weeks; it will reveal more details about the deal and what it means for the music industry.