Frequently Asked Questions

Bandcamp United is organizing for fair, equitable, and sustainable conditions for all workers at Bandcamp. All workers deserve to be treated and valued fairly. We are also committed to holding Bandcamp accountable for delivering on its artist-first mission and to protecting and supporting our colleagues who speak up. Time and experience have shown us that the only way to achieve this is by organizing together.

The music and tech industries are at a juncture, and it’s time that we as workers have a seat at the table to weigh in on the challenges and opportunities of this moment. Forming our union is critical to our ability to do our best work and make good on the promise and mission of Bandcamp.

Right now, we’re demanding a fair and timely election with no delays and are calling on leadership to stop engaging in union-busting. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), if 30% of workers sign authorization cards and submit a petition for a union election, they have a legal right to an election at their workplace. We want to exercise our legal rights to a union election and ensure every eligible employee has the right to vote in a democratic election administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

We are currently focused on winning our union election and securing a seat at the bargaining table so that we can be sure Bandcamp has to bargain with us before we start making collective demands. Even though we are still a ways off from negotiating the details of our union contract, here are a few things that unite us:

We are excited about all of the ways we can achieve these goals through our contract! Check out Kickstarter United’s contract for some examples of what we could fight for.

We spoke to all of our colleagues before we went public to ensure we had a supermajority of eligible supporters. When we went public with our union, we also had an outpouring of support from artists, labels, fans, and external allies (including over 3,300 signatures on our public petition demanding a fair and timely election!) — we want the same equity and transparency we provide to our users for our workers. Thank you for standing with us! Our next step is to win an election administered by the NLRB so we can be an officially recognized union.

We are disappointed with the way management has responded to our union and are calling on them to stop engaging in union-busting. Since our initial announcement, Bandcamp leadership has hired Foley & Lardner LLP, who attempted to take us to an unnecessary hearing that would have delayed our election. Leadership has also engaged in flagrant misinformation campaigns, intimidation tactics, and threats against our current benefits. We are keeping track of any such violations of workers’ rights, and will continue to stand united. Thankfully the hearing was dismissed, and we are proceeding to an election to secure our union! We are hopeful that leadership will respect our vote and that we can continue building a better Bandcamp together.

Right now, we’re asking our community to continue publicly voicing their support of Bandcamp United while also continuing to support the artists & labels on the site. Bandcamp United stands in solidarity with workers everywhere, and that means musicians, too. We’re not calling for a boycott of Bandcamp by any means. We love Bandcamp, which is a big part of what led us to form BCU in the first place.

If you’re wondering how best to publicly voice your support, please check out our Ally Toolkit and website! It has additional info on the following asks:

BCU takes Bandcamp’s commitment to fairness and transparency towards artists and labels very seriously. We have been moving with artists and labels as a top priority since our inception. The public support and enthusiasm we’ve seen from the music community reflects that. We are committed to not taking any actions that would hurt artists and labels. It is up to Bandcamp leadership to honor their public promises to the music community, and to not erode the goodwill they have garnered.

We will be posting from @BandcampUnited on Twitter and Instagram, and Mastodon (union.place). We would love for you to follow us, repost us, and tag us (and @Bandcamp and@EpicGames). We want to show our leadership that the Bandcamp community is strong and will stand behind us in asking for a fair and timely election with no delays and to cease all union busting. We want to keep this messaging positive! We are hopeful that both Bandcamp and Epic leadership will work with us. (If you’re unsure of what to say, be sure to check out our Ally Toolkit for examples!)

Feel free to email us at contact@bandcampunited.org.