Half of Bandcamp’s staff made redundant as Songtradr acquisition is completed

Bandcamp has made half of its staff redundant as the direct-to-fan platform’s sale to Songtradr by previous owner Epic Games is completed.

The news was initially shared on X by Bandcamp Daily Senior Editor JJ Skolnik, who wrote: “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 Diamond Sharp and Atoosa Moinzadeh, and most of the incredible support staff among many others. This is a loss, no two ways about it”.

Songtradr subsequently confirmed in a statement that just under 50% of Bandcamp’s staff - 58 of 118 people - will continue to work at the company following the change in ownership.

It said: “Over the past few years the operating costs of Bandcamp have significantly increased. 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% of Bandcamp employees have accepted offers to join Songtradr”.

The new owner had already confirmed earlier this month that redundancies would have to be made. Noting that Epic announced the sale of Bandcamp at the same time as instigating a round of redundancies within the wider gaming company, Songtradr added at the time that: "Those that don’t receive offers within the next few weeks will receive severance from Epic as part of their layoffs as communicated on 28 Sep".

In its new statement, Songtradr also reiterated that it is “committed to keeping the existing Bandcamp services that fans and artists love”.

Speaking to Variety, a spokesperson for Songtradr said a decision had not yet been made on whether it would recognise the Bandcamp United union, which was formed under Epic Games’ Bandcamp ownership.