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Epic Games is selling Bandcamp for an undisclosed sum, 18 months after acquiring the platform. Bandcamp’s new owner is the music marketing company Songtradr, which, according to its blog on the acquisition, will “continue to operate Bandcamp as a marketplace and music community with an artist-first revenue share.”
Songtradr, which describes itself as a music licensing platform and marketplace company, framed the acquisition as an opportunity for Bandcamp artists to secure licensing deals, including with Epic Games itself, which will continue to collaborate with Bandcamp on projects like Fortnite Radio. Asked whether artist revenue shares, user experience, or the editorial platform Bandcamp Daily will be affected by the acquisition, Songtradr declined to comment. A representative for Epic Games also declined comment on the sale, pointing to the company’s public announcement.
The sale was announced in tandem with the news that Epic Games is laying off 16 percent of its workforce, in addition to divesting Bandcamp and SuperAwesome. Steve Allison, vice president and general manager of the Epic Games store, said the sale to Songtradr would “make it easier for independent artists to connect with creators and developers looking to license their music and enable Epic to focus on its core metaverse, games, and tools efforts.”
Earlier this year, members of Bandcamp’s editorial, design, support, and engineering staffs unionized. Pitchfork has reached out to Bandcamp United for comment on the sale.
