Songtradr Acquires Bandcamp, Lays off Staff

Music licensing platform Songtradr acquired Bandcamp in late September, and now half of the staff there have been laid off, Variety reports. Bandcamp was briefly owned by Epic Games after the Fortnite creator acquired the platform in March last year.

Epic Games recently had layoffs affecting 16% of its staff, according to a previous report from Variety, which led to the acquisition by Songtradr. Epic Games is still hoping to partner with Songtradr so Bandcamp artists can still provide their music for Epic titles and metaverse environments.

Songtradr announced the complete acquisition in a statement. “After a comprehensive evaluation, including the importance of roles for smooth business operations and pre-existing functions at Songtradr, 50% of Bandcamp employees have accepted offers to join Songtradr,” the statement read.

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Bandcamp’s employees in the U.S. publicly launched a union this year, and submitted a list of demands as part of the acquisition, including “employment offers for all workers; clear, consistent, and equitable voluntary severance offers; employment offers for all workers,” Variety reports. The demands also called for Songtradr to acknowledge the existence of the Bandcamp United Union, but there has been no update on whether or not Songtradr will officially recognize the union.

According to a September report from Music Business Worldwide, Epic Games wrote, “in an internal announcement to staff, … Songtradr, Inc. would be offering positions to some Bandcamp employees but not all.”

“The acquisition of Bandcamp will help Songtradr continue to grow its suite of services for artists,” Songtradr CEO Paul Wiltshire said in a statement. “I’m a passionate musician myself, and artistry and creativity have always been at the heart of Songtradr. Bandcamp will join a team of music industry veterans and artists who have deep expertise in music licensing, composition, rights management, and distribution.”

Songtradr will allow Bandcamp artists to officially license their music for use by app and game developers, content creators, and brands. “This [acquisition] will enable artists to continue to own and control their music rights, and increase their earning capacity from Songtradr’s global licensing network,” (quote per a report from Variety).

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