[ sourced from TechCrunch ]
[TECHCRUNCH] Bandcamp’s new owner lays off half the company
Submitted 1 year ago by irradiated@radiation.party [bot] to technews@radiation.party
https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/16/bandcamps-new-owner-lays-off-half-the-company/
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 1 year ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Songtradr confirmed that “50% of employees received offers” to continue on under the new ownership — and naturally the other 50% didn’t.
The venerable digital music marketplace was acquired by Epic last year, but clearly the Fortnite maker wasn’t quite sure what to do with the company, and late last month resold it to music licensing platform Songtradr as part of a wave of cost-cutting.
A spokesperson for the company added that “There were reductions made across all departments, and all departments still have original Bandcamp employees.” Acquisitions very frequently result in loss of positions, so while this isn’t unusual, 50% does seem like a lot — and a lot of people are sadly out of a job.
Notably, Bandcamp employees were in the process of unionizing, or rather some had done so already, a factor that has been suggested as contributing to Epic’s sudden distaste for ownership.
Until last year, Bandcamp seemed to be one of the few remaining places for relatively simple and equitable monetization for independent musical artists.
The corporate takeover and resale does not bode well for the platform, but we will know soon what effect these layoffs and any other changes will have on the business.
The original article contains 328 words, the summary contains 201 words. Saved 39%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!