Bandcamp To Donate 100% Of Profits On June 19th To Support Racial Justice & Equality: #BlackLivesMatter

For 24 hours on June 19th from midnight – midnight Pacific time, the music platform will be donating 100% of profits to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund “in support of racial justice, equality and change.“

In order to even begin to tackle the overwhelming amount of unrest and traumatic, horrific events coming to a head right now (it feels words cannot even begin to describe current world events) there is a lot to unpack. 

With the graphic nature of the spaces we inhabit built on the institutional, systemic oppression of marginalised communities, along with the threat of COVID-19 pandemic continuing to pose and immense threat to our society at the same time (while also predominantly affecting marginalised communities in the most serious manners). The severity of the issues at hand are staggering – however, we cannot turn a blind eye for our own personal comfort, as it’s important to remember silence is complacency.

In the fight for the survival of the music industry that has been suffering due to the pandemic, along with support for people of colour and specifically, black people who have always been, and are evidently still being targeted by extreme violence and police brutality due to racism; the music community has proven to be one of the biggest allies in standing in solidarity with one another in many regards (the #theshowmustbepaused demonstration by the music community which took place yesterday, June 2nd is but the tip of the iceberg). 

Bandcamp has proven itself time and time again to be a platform that stays true to its ideals in supporting all members of the music community; from waiving their fees in order to direct revenue directly to artists whose livelihoods have been severely affected by the pandemic, to making consistent efforts to stand in solidarity with those who face the brunt of a violent and oppressive society.

Bandcamp will be waiving fees once again this Friday on June the 5th.

Furthermore, Bandcamp have now announced that on the 19th of June, and every 19th of June following – they will be donating 100% of their profits to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the USA’s “leading civil and human rights law firm.” – this comes in direct response to the consistent police brutality leading to the murders of black people.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 75 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.

LDF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Bandcamp will also be allocating $30,000 per year to partner with organisations that fight for racial justice. Read the full statement below:

Stand with Bandcamp to Support Racial Justice, Equality and Change

The recent killings of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the ongoing state-sanctioned violence against black people in the US and around the world are horrific tragedies. We stand with those rightfully demanding justice, equality, and change, and people of color everywhere who live with racism every single day, including many of our fellow employees and artists and fans in the Bandcamp community.

__So this coming Juneteenth (June 19, from midnight to midnight PDT) and every Juneteenth hereafter, for any purchase you make on Bandcamp, we will be donating 100% of our share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund__, a national organization that has a long history of effectively enacting racial justice and change through litigation, advocacy, and public education. We’re also allocating an additional $30,000 per year to partner with organizations that fight for racial justice and create opportunities for people of color.

The current moment is part of a long-standing, widespread, and entrenched system of structural oppression of people of color, and real progress requires a sustained and sincere commitment to political, social, and economic racial justice and change. We’ll continue to promote diversity and opportunity through our mission to support artists, the products we build to empower them, who we promote through the Bandcamp Daily, our relationships with local artists and organizations through our Oakland space, how we operate as a team, and who and how we hire.

Beyond that, we encourage everyone in the Bandcamp community to look for ways to support racial equality in your own local community, and as a company we’ll continue to look for more opportunities to support racial justice, equality and change.”

Statement by Bandcamp

Feature Image: (Free To Use Image) by Logan Weaver via Unsplash