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In a major pivot for a platform that had touted itself as a more artist-friendly destination than streaming giants like Spotify and Apple Music, Bandcamp is cutting a significant number of employees.
Songtradr, the Santa Monica-based music licensing service that acquired Bandcamp from Epic Games, said on Monday that it had closed the deal for the music discovery platform. Some 60 Bandcamp staffers, out of 118, were offered employment to join Songtradr’s staff of 369 workers, a company spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter, adding: “People who didn’t receive offers from Songtradr will receive severance from Epic as part of their layoffs as communicated on September 28.”
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Bandcamp’s moment as an Epic Games product — it was acquired in March 2022 by the maker of Fortnite and the Unreal Engine — lasted less than two years. At the time, Epic Games executive Steve Allison thought the acquisition would add to “Epic’s approach to supporting creators across all media and enabling them to connect directly with their fans.”
But there was never a clear match between the gaming giant’s ambitions and a platform known for a signature day — Bandcamp Fridays — to provide independent musicians with a bigger cut of revenue from the purchase and download of individual tracks and albums. Founded in 2008 and run by Ethan Diamond, Bandcamp found a niche in promoting indie music while its editorial writers worked to spotlight picks and publish interviews and features on artists in a similar style as a music magazine.
“Over the past few years the operating costs of Bandcamp have significantly increased,” a rep for Songtradr stated. “It required some adjustments to ensure a sustainable and healthy company that can serve its community of artists and fans. After a comprehensive evaluation, including the importance of roles for smooth business operations and pre existing functions at Songtradr, 50 percent of Bandcamp employees have accepted offers to join Songtradr.”
In a note on Sept. 28, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said the decision to divest Bandcamp was made in tandem with cost-cutting measures that would include cutting 830 of its own employees. Sweeney noted that Fortnite‘s “growth is driven primarily by creator content with significant revenue sharing, and this is a lower margin business than we had when Fortnite Battle Royale took off.”
In unveiling its deal to buy Bandcamp in late September, Songtradr signaled that its reasoning for acquiring the platform included offering “artists the ability and choice to have their music licensed to all forms of media including content creators, game and app developers and brands.” Bandcamp’s large roster of eclectic musicians across genres could help bolster the licensing platform’s broader sync licensing aims in film, TV and commercial projects.
After the layoffs were made, a group of employees at the platform organizing under the name Bandcamp United released a statement saying, “We’re glad we have our union — coworkers who have each other’s backs. We’ll be moving together to decide what our next steps are.” The group noted that they plan to “return to the bargaining table with Epic Games.”
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