Half of Bandcamp’s staff let go following Songtradr acquisition

The automated music licensing marketplace Songtradr has confirmed that it has laid off half of Bandcamp’s staff, two weeks after sealing the acquisition from Epic Games.

In a statement sent to Rolling Stone, Songtradr cited significantly increased operating costs as the reason behind the “adjustments.”

Since news of the acquisition was publicised, the business-to-business music platform has claimed that it is committed to ensuring Bandcamp is a “sustainable and healthy company” while keeping its popular services such as Bandcamp Daily and Bandcamp Friday.

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In the first week following news of Bandcamp’s acquisition, Songtradr announced that it would provide Bandcamp artists with the choice to opt in to license their music, which would “enable artists to continue to own and control their music rights, and increase their earning capcaity from Songtradr’s global licensing network.”

This appears to be the driving factor behind Songtradr’s purchase, with the vast catalogue on Bandcamp opening up a potentially large revenue source of passive income for licensing and syncs to media such as film, TV, adverts and video games if enough artists opt in. On an individual level there are concerns this may not be beneficial to artists, who could see their music commercially devalued.

Songtradr says the decision to lay off half of the online music shop and platform’s staff was made after a “comprehensive evaluation, including the importance of roles for smooth business operations and pre-existing funcitons at Songrtradr.”

Songtradr’s acquisition marks the second time in less than two years that Bandcamp has been bought, with the video game monolith Epic Games acquiring the previously independent company in 2022.

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In the space of 18 months, the Fortnite developer has since sold Bandcamp as well as laying off 16% of staff and dropping the marketing company SuperAwesome.

In a statement on its website, CEO Tim Sweeney revealed that Epic Games had been “spending way more than [it] earns, investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators” for too long.

After the layoffs, Bandcamp’s dismissed senior editor JJ Skolnik took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express their dismay:

officially laid off, after two weeks of limbo where i expected that would be the case but had no confirmation. nearly eight years at bandcamp and it’s over. if anyone is looking for a dedicated, talented, and professional editor and culture writer, i’m on the market

— jj skolnik (@modernistwitch) October 16, 2023

Bandcamp United, the Bandcamp workers’ union, responded to the “heartbreaking” news by announcing that it will be moving to decide its next steps and return to the bargaining table with Epic Games today, October 17.