Rockstar, Necrosoft and other game devs slam Epic and Songtradr for "trashing" Bandcamp as layoffs announced
The fleetingly Epic Games-owned online audio distribution company Bandcamp have shed "at least" half their staff in the course of being sold off to Songtradr as part of mass layoffs at Epic this summer. That's according to the union Bandcamp United, who are even now restarting discussions with Epic in the hope of obtaining a better outcome.
It's terrible news for those affected, of course, but it also doesn't bode well for the future of independent music. Bandcamp, which has now traded hands twice in two years, is one of the few places where indie musicians can make a living. There are plenty of angry reactions from musicians and bands on social media, as you'd expect, but game developers are also rallying in support of Bandcamp United, with criticism aimed at Epic and Songtradr in equal measure.
"Epic bought a profitable business, decided they needed to cut costs, and nearly immediately started gutting that profitable business before selling it off to vultures," observed Brandon Sheffield, director of Demonschool developer Necrosoft Games. "Bandcamp is the only place where smaller musical artists make any money. What a miserable situation." Sheffield added that "bandcamp has unionized and songtradr hasn't recognized it yet, I'm sure that's a coincidence".
"Ugh, this sucks," wrote George Williamson, associate audio director at Rockstar. "It was the one place for buying music that felt like it was allowing artists to actually make money. It's sadly predictable that when big tech money gets involved, they scramble to make a quick buck, trashing the value at the same time."
Liz Ryerson - designer, musician, lecturer and the creator of the extremely good and influential Problem Attic - described the reduction of
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