Bandcamp waives fees for racial justice on Juneteenth

In light of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement across the world, the music platform Bandcamp will be donating 100% of their share of sales for 24 hours today to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to support racial justice.

Alongside the announcement, Bandcamp has pledged that each Juneteenth (June 19th) hereafter, they will be repeating the event, as well as donating an additional $30,000 per year to partner with organisations that fight for racial justice and create opportunities for people of colour.

To mark the occasion, many independent labels and artists will be preparing special releases, new merchandise and many are donating their proceeds in support of racial justice and change.

Bandcamp, known for its fair treatment of artists and independent labels (only taking 10-15% listed on the site), has recently been waiving their fees on three occasions since the COVID-19 outbreak to help support the music community, which is being disproportionately affected during the pandemic.

On May 1, music fans paid artists $7.1 million in just 24 hours. With 800,000 sales (15x more than the normal amount sold on a Friday), this generated $2.8 million more than the first time the organisation launched the initiative on the 20th of March.

COVID-19 is clearly having a huge impact on people and economies across the world. One of the industries which is taking a particularly hard hit is the music and entertainment industries. With this in mind, we've created a guide to help support the music community we love and cherish. Read how you can help here.