Bandcamp employees form union
Employees of the music sharing website Bandcamp have announced that they have formed a union. Workers from the editorial, design, support and engineering departments want a “fair and timely election” under the name Bandcamp United and have been working with the Office and Professional Employees International Union.
The employees have written a statement, which reads: “We all chose to join this company as an extension of our own love for independent music, and believe that a site such as Bandcamp that aims to offer an ethical and fair alternative to the streaming economy should reflect its mission internally.”
Bandcamp United is joining many other new unions in the music business, including Spotify, Moog and Secretly Group, as well as the Union of Musicians and Organized Workers. The union formation comes shortly after Bandcamp was purchased last year by Epic Games for an undisclosed fee.
The co-founder of Bandcamp and its current CEO, Ethan Diamon, also released a statement to Rolling Stone. He said: “We are aware that some Bandcamp employees are seeking to organize a union. Employees have a right to organize and we are reviewing the petition to understand their concerns.” Diamond has given his word that the company would “continue to build Bandcamp around [its] artists-first revenue model” when Epic bought it last year.
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