Bandcamp death rattle(?)

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Sad to witness Bandcamp's slow unraveling: they had – have, until they go dark, I suppose – something so good, so special – and now, well, I don't know. Something… less. I've become reticent to post new EarBliss here because I've a growing fear I'm going to be left with pages of broken players. Whole situation seems like a golden opportunity for... something / someone – though I'm not sure who: Etsy's the first one that springs to mind, but there has to be a better option. Patreon? Really shouldn't be this hard.

Excellent article summing up the whole thing and reasons for skepticism about Songtradr, via Pitchfork:

There are reasons to doubt that Songtradr will be able to pull off its business goals. Founded in 2014, the Santa Monica company has raised roughly $101 million in financing, much of which it has put toward an aggressive strategy of mergers and acquisitions—that is, driving growth by bringing other companies under its umbrella. CEO Paul Wiltshire claims that the company nearly doubled revenue in 2020, but Songtradr’s revenue appears to have flattened out for the past three years. So far, the company’s communications regarding its acquisition haven’t been totally on the level. When announcing this week’s job cuts, Songtradr said that “50 percent of Bandcamp employees have accepted offers to join Songtradr.” In fact, only half of Bandcamp’s employees were offered employment in the first place; the other half were summarily let go.