Bandcamp has always been known as an artist-friendly alternative to streaming services like Spotify, where you can buy music directly from the musicians themselves. Now workers at Epic-owned online audio distributor want to make sure they are treated the same as its creators by forming a union called Bandcamp United. Accordingly Rolling Stone And TechCrunch, a majority of workers support organizing in unions, and all 62 of their US non-executive and non-executive employees will form their union. These 62 employees are made up of support staff, designers, engineers, writers and other roles within the platform.
Apparently, Bandcamp staff have been quietly working on their organizing efforts since last summer. They eventually decided to join the Office and Professional Employees International Union’s Tech Workers Union Local 1010, the same group that helped full-time Organize Kickstarter staff back in 2020. Based on the written mission statement Bandcamp United website, the group aims to fix wage inequality and promote “equitable conditions and economic stability”. They want to ensure workers have access to paid time off and that their salaries “grow to meet economic need”.
Rolling Stone says they’re also trying to address the lack of management transparency following last year’s acquisition by Epic. Workers were reportedly asked to sign new employment contracts if the Fourteen days The developer acquired the platform and was given a limited time to review the terms, with no room for negotiation.
Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamond told the publications that management is “aware that some … employees are attempting to form a union and [is] Reviewing petition to understand their concerns.” Bandcamp United has already petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a union election and will do one to make things official once approved.
