Bandcamp hit with layoffs following Songtradr acquisition
As many as half of the music platform’s full-time staff have been fired, according to posts from former employees.
Bandcamp logo under magnifying glass. Image by Marco Verch via Creative Commons.
Layoffs have hit Bandcamp, according to multiple posts from current and former employees on Twitter, with as many as half of the platform’s workforce cut from their jobs.
Bandcamp was sold by Epic Games in September to Songtradr. The new owners promised in a statement to “continue to operate Bandcamp as a marketplace and music community with an artist-first revenue share.” Songtradr confirmed the layoffs in an emailed statement to the Verge.
songtradr said 'supporting the bandcamp community is our number one priority'. by laying off half the staff – the beating heart of bandcamp, the workers who made and remade the platform every single day – they've proven that they have no concept of community, nor its actual value
— chris walla (@calculizer) October 16, 2023
3 years at Bandcamp, nearly 100 records & an entire union later, and laid off without so much as a peep from (ex) leadership. Please continue to support artists. Buy music at every turn. Hire my beautiful colleagues and hit me up for all your vinyl needs. Artists first forever.
— Rochelle Shipman (@rochelleshipman) October 16, 2023
Half the company was laid off today, not just the Daily but the tech side as well. As one former employee told me just now “Without some of those people, it’s Bandcamp in name only at this point.”
— lamemeyoung.bsky.social (@la_meme_young) October 16, 2023
Songtradr truly hit the ground running gutting the place for copper pipes.
about half the company was laid off today. some of the most incredible people i’ve ever worked with, including two of my amazing editorial colleagues @diamonde and @atoosamoinzadeh and most of the incredible support staff among many others. this is a loss, no two ways about it
— jj skolnik (@modernistwitch) October 16, 2023
Bandcamp United, Bandcamp’s union, is currently engaged with Songtradr in a battle for recognition. Last week the union shared a petition calling for voluntary recognition from the platform. According to the Verge, Songtradr “did not confirm” whether or not they would do so in their new statement.
When reached by for comment, a representative of Epic Games referred The FADER to an open letter to the public from the company’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, and highlighted the following points:
We are laying off around 830 employees, or 16% of jobs. About two-thirds of the layoffs were in teams outside of core development.
Around 250 people are leaving Epic through our divestitures from Bandcamp and SuperAwesome.
We’re cutting costs without sacrificing development or lines of businesses so that means business functions are disproportionately impacted compared to development functions.
The rep also sent the following clarifying statements on the mass layoffs at Bandcamp:
These are not new layoffs. Bandcamp employees who did not receive offers from Songtradr will receive severance from Epic, as part of the layoffs we communicated on September 28.
On September 28th, the day Epic announced its layoffs and divestiture from Bandcamp, we shared with Bandcamp employees that we understand: Songtradr will be extending offers to some Bandcamp employees in waves in the coming weeks. Employees not receiving offers will be offered severance by Epic and be part of Epic’s layoffs.
The FADER has reached out to Bandcamp and Bandcamp United for more information.