Bandcamp to donate 100% of sales to NAACP Legal Defense Fund on Juneteenth

As well as supporting musicians by waiving their revenue shares on certain days during the coronavirus pandemic, Bandcamp has also announced a new plan to donate money in support of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests around the world.

In the announcement on Monday (1 June), Ethan Diamond, the CEO of Bandcamp, wrote, "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."

Diamond went on to explain what Bandcamp will be doing to support the protests, "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 organisation that has a long history of effectively enacting racial justice and change through litigation, advocacy, and public education."

Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day, and takes place on 19 June. It acknowledges the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy back in 1865.

He added, "We’re also allocating an additional $30,000 per year to partner with organisations that fight for racial justice and create opportunities for people of color."