Black Bandcamp relaunches as Black Artist Database

Aiming to “expand the project’s scale and scope, and bring cultural and material support to the Black community.”

Black Bandcamp has changed its name to Black Artist Database — or B.A.D.

The community-based platform was originally launched on the 4th June 2020 — during the COVID-19 pandemic and following the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement — as a response to structural racism within the music industry.

Highlighting Black artists and Black-owned record labels on Bandcamp, Black Artist Database has grown to include more than 3,500 profiles.

The relaunch signals the platform’s aim to “expand the project’s scale and scope, and bring cultural and material support to the Black community.”

This expansion will include decentralising “the overall structure, framework and basis of the community and platform” and “working towards a flatter set-up, free from gate-keepers and the trappings of hierarchical structure so evident in the music industry at present.”

Coinciding with the relaunch, B.A.D. has launched its new [pause] campaign, which aims to work towards making businesses in the music industry more equitable for BIPoC professionals.

Black Artist Database also aims to host physical events, including panels and forums, in locations across the globe in the future.

“Creating spaces where Black people can be comfortable and safe while enjoying themselves is a goal in its own right,” the group’s founders state, “but it also inspires newer generations of Black folk, serves to form networks, and educates all folk on the origins of the music they so love.”

Alongside this, the platform is also launching a new mix series, starting with Eddie Fowlkes.

Head here for more info.