Bandcamp sold to Songtradr – 50% of employees now laid off
Second acquisition in 18 months.
3,3 / 5,0 | 
Just 18 months ago, Epic Games announced the acquisition of beloved music platform Bandcamp. Many were skeptical about the implications of what that would mean for the site’s future. And just yesterday the gaming giant released a statement: Bandcamp sold to Songtradr. Now that Bandcamp has again a new home, what might the new future hold?
Update (October 17, 2023): Yesterday, more than 50 percent of Bandcamp’s employees were laid off, among them senior editor of BC daily, JJ Skolnik, regular contributors Diamond Sharp and Atoosa Moinzadeh and many more, effectively halving Bandcamp Daily’s staff. Many musicians and artists issued concerned statements on X (formerly known as Twitter) about Bandcamp’s now uncertain future.
https://twitter.com/modernistwitch/status/1713962311579234428?s=20
Many independent bands and artists regard Bandcamp Daily as one of the beacons of music journalism featuring genres and artists off the beaten path. The magazine has been a constant source for discovering songs and artists for music fans for many years. It remains uncertain how new owners Songtradr will handle Bandcamp and what the future of the beloved music platform will be. Some speculate that Songtradr will introduce a mandatory song distribution for Bandcamp’s many artists through their network. Fingers crossed for BC’s future!
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March 22: Epic buys Bandcamp
Many were baffled and confused by Epic’s move on Bandcamp in March 2022. What could a gaming giant possibly want out of a beloved, musician-friendly music hub? And what could this acquisition mean for Bandcamp’s future? Quite a few speculated that this move was a tactical one as Epic was entangled in lawsuits with both Apple and Google parent Alphabet over their respective app store policies. Bandcamp would be used as leverage.
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On Bandcamp’s side, two things happened since the acquisition. Well, one thing did and one thing didn’t. Before Epic, Bandcamp had been continuously updating its site with new features. That ground to a halt almost completely since March 2022. What did happen earlier this year was that Bandcamp’s employees voted to unionize. And now we’re here: Bandcamp sold to Songtradr.
Bandcamp sold to Songtradr… who?
If you’re wondering just who or what Songtradr might be, you’re not alone. The company’s main focus is b2b music licensing. So, if you’re a business looking to license a hit song for your new commercial, Songtradr does the work for you. They also offer music distribution similar to CD Baby, Tunecore, or Distrokid. This is where it might get interesting for the over five million artists selling music and merch through Bandcamp.
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Because up until now, if you wanted to get your music both on Bandcamp and on the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer, you needed to do the second part through a different distributor. Neither side has clarified what exactly the roadmap is going to be, but giving Bandcamp users the option to automatically distribute their releases to DSPs seems like a given. It might also be possible that artists will be offered ways to license their music for ads, tv shows and more directly through Bandcamp.
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What remains to be seen is what Bandcamp/Songtradr will charge for this. And given that Songtradr is the (self-appointed) “world’s largest B2B music company“, but no gaming giant Epic, the future of popular Bandcamp Friday where the service waived its fees seems uncertain, just like its music magazine Bandcamp Daily.
What did you think when you heard the news “Bandcamp sold to Songtradr”? Let us know in the comments!
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8 responses to “Bandcamp sold to Songtradr – 50% of employees now laid off”
I forgot Epic bought bandcamp, and I’ll probably forget that songtrader bought them.
Maybe it will make a difference for artists, but my only concern as a fan is being able to buy music.
I find it odd that people care so much about these online platforms. Why do we care whether Twitter/Bandcamp/etc. make good decisions? I get that people rely on these platforms to make money, but I think that if you care so much, then shouldn’t you realize how important it is to be less dependent on these platforms? We’re supposedly independent artists, and many of us pride ourselves on that concept, yet we depend so much on on certain platforms. We constantly see these platforms make decisions, everyone gets hyped up one way or another, then the dust settles and everyone moves on. Every time–whatever company, whatever controversy–most people end up continuing to use the platform anyway. What’s different about bandcamp? (My question at the beginning of this paragraph still stands, even though I’ve expounded upon it. It’s a genuine question, if anyone has a response. I don’t ask questions rhetorically or to make a point.)
Most of the labels and artists I’m into on Bandcamp either never depended on BC in the first place (they have their own website/business/operation), or they have recently started depending less on it, or they have enough of a rapport with their community that they could shift focus without losing contact if anything really happened with BC. Many others simply aren’t there for the money, and they’ll just keep posting memes on soundcloud.
I’m not surprised at all. And things will pretty sure all change in disadvantage for the artists.
I’m not on Bandcamp anymore, that’s terrible!
Still one of the best places for me as an artist selling and as a fan buying. Lets hope they don’t f-it up.
by sacking half their staff, they already have. Music is made by supported by,, created by and listened to by fans, these days.
If music is made, supported, created, and listened to by fans, then why are we fans so reliant on the wellbeing of a company? Bandcamp isn’t a band. Bandcamp isn’t making music. Fans and bands will exist forever, whether or not BC exists.
ah, I just realized you (William) seems to be on the same page as me. BC might have screwed up, but BC isn’t the one making music.
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