Global music platform Bandcamp has condemned President Trump's recent Muslim Ban with a public statement from founder and CEO Ethan Diamond, in which Diamond pledges to donate all of the company's share of proceeds for one day this Friday.
Diamond, who founded Bandcamp in 2007, states, "Like 98% of U.S. citizens (including the President), I am the descendant of immigrants — my great-grandparents came to America from Russia and Lithuania as teenagers and worked in sweatshops until they were able to afford to bring the rest of their families over.
"Last week’s Executive Order barring immigrants and refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States is not simply immoral, it violates the very spirit and foundation of America."
Diamond states the executive order will "not make us safer", but is instead "a cynical attempt to sow division among the American people, and is in direct opposition to the principles of a country where the tenet of religious freedom is written directly into the Constitution".
"We at Bandcamp oppose the ban wholeheartedly, and extend our support to those whose lives have been upended."
Diamond vows to donate 100% of Bandcamp's share of proceeds to the American Civil Liberties Union on 3 February. ACLU have already filed a lawsuit against Trump's executive order and are quickly being supported by a number of musicians and notable figures such as Sia, Kal Penn, Zedd, Jack Antonoff, Olivia Wilde, Mandy Moore, Zach Braff and Adam Scott, many of whom have said they will match donations made by their fans.
Bandcamp have also compiled a list of albums from artists in the seven affected countries. Diamond says, "We hope that, as you listen to these albums, you’ll not only discover some great new artists, but will also gain a further appreciation and understanding for the way music transcends all borders, and remember that, even in the darkest of times, there is more that unites us than divides us."
Read Diamond's full statement here.
