Bandcamp Lays Off Half Its Staff After Songtradr Acquisition ⇥ hollywoodreporter.com

Erik Hayden, the Hollywood Reporter:

Songtradr, the Santa Monica-based music licensing service that acquired Bandcamp from Epic Games, said on Monday that it had closed the deal for the music discovery platform. Some 60 Bandcamp staffers, out of 118, were offered employment to join Songtradr’s staff of 369 workers, a company spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter, adding: “People who didn’t receive offers from Songtradr will receive severance from Epic as part of their layoffs as communicated on September 28.”

My tepid optimism for Bandcamp’s long-term success under the ownership of Songtradr is taking a few hits. My thoughts are with the fifty-eight staff laid off in this brutal year for tech labour.

Update: The people working on unionization efforts at Bandcamp were among those dismissed. No surprises, just disappointment.