As musicians, artists, and creatives struggle financially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bandcamp has made waves by frequently waiving its revenue share to put money and resources back in the pockets of those who need it. Today, the digital music platform is once again helping out those in need, donating its cut of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to aid and assist the Black community.
Bandcamp also announced this week it is donating $30,000 annually “to partner with organizations that fight for racial justice and create opportunities for people of color.” Today’s sale effort honors Juneteenth, amid a groundswell of national support to make June 19 a national holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in 1865.
Bandcamp’s sales cut will go to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund for all purchases on the site from now until midnight PDT. The fund supports racial justice and change through litigation, advocacy, and public education.
“The recent killings of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the ongoing state-sanctioned violence against black people in the US and around the world are horrific tragedies,” Bandcamp states. “We stand with those rightfully demanding justice, equality, and change, and people of color everywhere who live with racism every single day, including many of our fellow employees and artists and fans in the Bandcamp community.”
Bandcamp has also spotlighted a “crowd-sourced list of Black artists”, and it comes with a “random shuffle” feature for music fans looking for something that might not be already on their radar. Music can also be searched for by artist name, genre, or location. A search for “Boston” brings up Bad Rabbits, Oompa, Haasan Barclay, Red Shaydez, Dev Blair, Mr. Lif, and others.
“The current moment is part of a long-standing, widespread, and entrenched system of structural oppression of people of color, and real progress requires a sustained and sincere commitment to political, social, and economic racial justice and change,” Bandcamp add. “We’ll continue to promote diversity and opportunity through our mission to support artists, the products we build to empower them, who we promote through the Bandcamp Daily, our relationships with local artists and organizations through our Oakland space, how we operate as a team, and who and how we hire.”