Songtradr Aquires Bandcamp From Epic Games

Australian-founded, LA-based music licensing company Songtradr has today (September 29) announced it has acquired Bandcamp for an undisclosed amount from Epic Games – the video game developer and publisher behind titles including Fortnite and Gears of War.

According to a press statement from the company, the acquisition “will help Bandcamp continue to grow within a music-first company and enable Songtradr to expand its capabilities to support the artist community”.

“Bandcamp is an online music store and community with over [five million] artists and labels where fans can discover, connect with, and directly support the artists they love,” it continues, later noting that Songtradr “will also offer Bandcamp artists the ability and choice to have their music licensed to all forms of media including content creators, game and app developers and brands”. This, the companies say, will “enable artists to continue to own and control their music rights, and increase their earning capacity from Songtradr’s global licensing network”.

“Epic is exploring ways to partner with Songtradr to build an inventory of music where artists can opt in to have their music licensed for use in Epic’s ecosystem. Epic will continue to collaborate with Bandcamp on projects like Fortnite Radio and is investing in Songtradr to support Bandcamp’s successful integration into Songtradr.”

Bandcamp has been the shining light for independent musicians looking for alternative ways to monetise their music through independent physical and digital sales – particularly in a market where streaming revenues are difficult to scale for smaller artists. Their successful ‘Bandcamp Fridays’ promotion, which gave 100 percent of revenue to artists, and other artist-friendly features have created a special place in the hearts of indie musicians for the Bandcamp brand.

The acquisition comes just 18 months after Epic Games acquired Bandcamp back in March 2022, amid recent layoffs that affected 16 pecent of its staff. "We're working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp," the latter company’s co-founder and CEO, Ethan Diamond, said at the time.

In a statement regarding this week’s news, Songtradr CEO Paul Wiltshire said: “The acquisition of Bandcamp will help Songtradr continue to grow its suite of services for artists.”

“I’m a passionate musician myself, and artistry and creativity have always been at the heart of Songtradr. Bandcamp will join a team of music industry veterans and artists who have deep expertise in music licensing, composition, rights management, and distribution.”

Steve Allison, Vice President and General Manager at Epic Games, added: “Songtradr shares Epic and Bandcamp’s values around ensuring artists are fairly compensated for their work. Bringing Bandcamp to Songtradr will make it easier for independent artists to connect with creators and developers looking to license their music and enable Epic to focus on its core metaverse, games, and tools efforts.”

Songtradr has been an Australian success story with producer Paul Wiltshire pivoting to the world of business and inspiring venture capitalists to create one of the world’s biggest music services companies. With its wrap-around strategy incorporating sync, publishing, distribution and tech platforms, the company is creating an independent music rights and artist services marketplace that with their Bandcamp acquisition is almost unrivalled globally.

Earlier this month, Songtradr also became the largest shareholder in the ASX-listed Jaxsta.