Bandcamp Sale Ends With A Round Of Mass Layoffs

Video Games

Oct 19

A new development has cropped up surrounding Songtradr’s acquisition of the music platform Bandcamp from Epic Games. About 50% of Bandcamp’s staff was laid off; while the extent wasn’t specified, Songtradr made it clear that layoffs were going to occur in a post on X. The licensing company stated, “Not all Bandcamp employees will receive offers from Songtradr,” citing adjustments to make the company sustainable.

The music company’s union, Bandcamp United, released a statement regarding the situation on their official X account:

“Today, Epic Games’ sale of Bandcamp to Songtradr was closed and at least half of Bandcamp’s staff was laid off. This is heartbreaking. We love our jobs, the platform we’ve built, and the Bandcamp community. 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. On Wednesday we return to the bargaining table with Epic Games, and we’ll keep you updated. Love and solidarity to the whole Bandcamp community. Thank you for your support.”

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Bandcamp United also confirmed who, in general, was laid off, stating (via Kotaku), “Of those laid off, 40 were in the union bargaining unit out of a total 67 members.” They continued, “None of the eight (8) democratically elected bargaining team members received a job offer.” According to a source from Kotaku, Songtradr has yet to officially recognize their union.

The sale of Bandcamp to Songtradr was first announced at the end of September. Epic Games purchased the audio distribution platform in March 2022, making their ownership of the music platform several months shy of two years. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney explained, “For a while now, we've been spending way more money than we earn,” and that they’ve been investing in the future. He also said, “We’re cutting costs without breaking development or our core lines of businesses so we can continue to focus on our ambitious plans.” Songtradr asserts a commitment to “continue to operate Bandcamp as a marketplace and music community with an artist-first revenue share.” At this time, Epic has plans to work with Songtradr to license music for Fortnite.

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