Well, this doesn't bode well. Two weeks ago, Epic Games, which had purchased the online audio distribution platform Bandcamp back in early 2022, surprised Bandcamp's employees by announcing that over 800 of them would be laid off and the platform was being sold to Songtradr, a music licensing marketplace.
Needless to say, this did not sit well with the Bandcamp staff, whose union has launched a petition for recognition by and negotiations with Songtradr's CEO. The artists and fans who've come to love Bandcamp over the years are also uncertain about their future with the platform, however. And yes, I'm among them.
Bandcamp gives its artists an average of over 80% of their music and merch sales, making Scrooges of Spotify and the other music platforms. On Bandcamp Fridays, that average goes up to over 90%. Between the platform's artist-friendly generosity and its fan community, it has long been a favorite of musicians. Epic didn't make any changes to the formula, but Songtradr has said that "[b]ased on its current financials, Bandcamp requires some adjustments to ensure a sustainable and healthy company that can serve its community of artists and fans long into the future."
So, yes, even though today isn't actually a Bandcamp Friday, it feels like it's Bandcamp Friday the 13th. It remains to be seen what those 'adjustments' will be, but independent artists can scarcely afford to lose as good a friend as Bandcamp has been to us. Here's hoping Songtradr doesn't break its new toy.
Watching September approach this year, I was filled with a sense of... well, not dread, really. Wariness, and weariness, I suppose. While I've always considered fall my favorite season, and September is my birth month, it's been a more depressing month these past several years. You'd think Suicide Prevention Awareness Month would be a fun and cheerful time, but...
The age thing really doesn't bother or faze me. I still mostly feel like the 18-year old cool but awkward, respectful but punk kid I've been for a long time now. A bit less naïve and a bit more world-weary, even though I used to describe myself as the world's youngest curmudgeon; some grey in my hair, and a few more lines in my face, but I just can't think of myself as a 50-year old, even if that's what I am now. I wasn't upset by the thought of growing another year older, I was upset by the thought of growing another year older and still feeling lonely.
This year has turned out much different than we'd all anticipated. Well, this September turned out much different than I'd anticipated, in a good way. On New Year's Eve 2019, I got a fortune cookie with a slip of paper inside which read, "If you want it... take it." I'm not one to take fortunes or horoscopes seriously, but I did interpret this as a positive way to approach life, even if I didn't implement it as well or as often as I'd intended. As this month was beginning, however, I found myself confronted with an opportunity I really hadn't expected... and I wanted it, and I took it.
And now I'm happy again, truly happy (and not just for a few hours or a day or three) for the first time in years. Today's my birthday, and I've got a dinner date tonight. I wrote and recorded a new song in under three weeks, and it will be released shortly (yes, on Apple Music and Spotify and iHeartRadio and Pandora and so on). And so begins another chapter in the Andersen Silva autobiography.
