The frontman of London heavy metal band Orange Goblin has started fundraising campaign for employees of music media company Team Rock.
Band leader Ben Ward started the campaign in the wake of news that broke yesterday (December 19) that more than 70 members of staff are to be laid off immediately with no severance pay.
Ward hopes to raise £20,000 via a campaign on fundraising platform JustGiving. “"Today, 73 members of the Team Rock staff were told that the company is going into liquidation and that they are being made redundant with immediate effect with ZERO pay,” he said in a statement. “These are good, hard-working, committed people that through Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog Rock, TeamRock Radio and more, have supported the rock and heavy metal scene in this country for decades and now we, the rock community, need to pull together to help give something back."
The company let go of the staff members after it collapsed and went into liquidation. Administrators were called in and 27 employees in Scotland and 46 in London have been made redundant. Seven staff members are being retained on a short-term basis to assist the administrators.
Founded in 2012, Team Rock was responsible for a stable of music titles including Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Classic Rock Presents Prog. It also ran TeamRock Radio and teamrock.com, which received an average of three million visits per month. It bought Classic Rock, Classic Rock Presents Prog and Metal Hammer from Future Publishing in 2013.
FRP Advisory are seeking buyers for the company’s assets. Joint administrator Tom MacLennan said the business had traded at a loss for “a significant period of time”.
MacLennan added: “The company explored every option to secure the long-term future of the business, however the constraints on the cash position of the business were such that administration was the only viable option. The administration presents an excellent opportunity to acquire high profile rock music titles, products and brands that have a substantial global following.”
For details of the fundraising campaign and to donate click here. At the time of writing, £13,287 has been raised.
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