By ELI JACE >
For their second annual Juneteenth fundraiser, when you purchase any music through the site, every cent will be donated to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which helps to promote racial justice through litigation, advocacy, and public education.
The first fundraiser was set into motion in response to the murders-by-police of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in the spring of 2020. Juneteenth is the unofficial holiday of the solemn celebration of emancipation in the United States.
It offers unsigned artists a universally recognized space to release their music, free of outside intrusions from labels, sponsors, mentors and the like. Knowing your work will be streamable and downloadable to a worldwide audience brings out total creative freedom.
As it has grown in usership and viewers, the website has used its pull to help issues in the LGBTQ community and with artists' rights. When the pandemic came into focus in early 2020, Bandcamp moved to help the struggling artists it represents. On the first Friday of that March, Bandcamp Friday was initiated and the website's total revenue was waived and passed onto the creators.
Not only is it a generous kickback for the artists, but it helps to spurn engagement with fans wanting to give more support.
Bandcamp Fridays continued, and for the first full year, 12 Fridays brought in $52 million.
For this June and July, there will be a pause in Bandcamp Friday, but it will pick up on August 6th and continue through 2021.
If you're looking to enhance your Bandcamp collection, check out our recommended albums list on Pinterest.
