It’s been brought to my attention by countless emails and messages that a fair number of people who want to get my new album Sinombré Vol I: All Hope is Gone are not familiar with how the Pledge Music system works.

I know I’ve been talking about the album on social media for months, planting seeds, sharing progress updates and establishing the album’s ‘identity’ with the logo and imagery and, not surprisingly, some are expecting that the Pledge Campaign launch on 25th March marks the release of the album; that it will just be a case of going to the Pledge site and downloading the new album.

So, for the uninitiated, I thought I ought to explain a bit more about how the whole thing works, and why.

The clue is in the word ‘campaign.’ Pledge Music define themselves thus: PledgeMusic is an online Direct-to-Fan music platform,  that facilitates musicians reaching out to their fanbase (termed Pledgers) to pre-sell, market, and distribute music projects including recordings, music videos, and concerts.

In a nutshell, you are the boss and provide the funding to enable me to manufacture, release and promote my project. The campaign is designed to build interest in the album across as wide a network as possible prior to it’s release and the platform is unique in allowing pledgers access to lots of free exclusive content sent to you at intervals during the campaign. A basic ‘access’ pass will mean you receive a download of the full album when it is released on 1st July, plus regular updates that will include live acoustic recordings of some of the new songs, behind the scenes videos and exclusive previews of some of the videos that have been shot, including a free video of one of the tracks from the first single. In addition to this, you will get free postage on whatever physical products you order. I’m not going to list all the options, as they will appear in the Pledge Music store upon launch and you will be able to browse at your leisure. The sooner you pledge, the more exclusives you will receive.

I am as impatient as you to release the album; probably more so, as two years of my life and more money than I have has been invested in its production. But the campaign is a vital process in trying to ensure it reaches more people than a simple online iTunes/Amazon/Spotify release would do.

Once again, I wholeheartedly thank everyone in advance for helping to make this possible. Your support is incredible. It’s been a massive undertaking and I am really looking forward to the campaign.