Bandcamp, the online music store and promotional platform, will donate 100 percent of Friday's proceeds to the Transgender Law Center, an Oakland, California–based nonprofit focused on advancing the civil rights of transgender people.
In a statement, Bandcamp staffers explained how the Trump administration's lack of support for the LGBT community motivated the effort:
Bandcamp is a platform for artistic expression, and all manner of variance in experience and identity, including gender and sexuality, is welcome here. We support our LGBT+ users and staff, and we stand against any person or group that would see them further marginalized. This includes the current U.S. administration, and its recent capricious declaration that transgender troops will no longer be able to serve in the military. That this announcement was motivated in part to help fund the border wall exposes it as part of the administration's cynical, discriminatory agenda.
In response, we will be donating 100% of our share of every sale today, August 4th (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time) to the Transgender Law Center, a nonprofit organization that works tirelessly to change law, policy, and culture for the more equitable. TLC does critical policy advocacy and litigation on multiple fronts, fights for healthcare for trans veterans, defends incarcerated trans people from abuse in prisons and detention centers, supports trans immigrants, and helps trans youth tell their stories and build communities.
When an Executive Order was issued earlier this year barring immigrants and refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States, we held a wildly successful fundraiser for the ACLU. We hope you'll join us in now doing the same in support of trans rights. To participate as a fan, simply purchase music through Bandcamp today and we'll donate our share of the sale to TLC. To participate as an artist or label, send some or all of your share of today's sales directly to TLC here, and let us know your plan in the comments below so that we can help spread the word. Since our announcement, over 200 bands and labels have joined us in donating their share of proceeds to TLC. You can see that list here.
—Bandcamp Staff
Last Wednesday, in a series of startling announcements, the Trump administration took steps toward what many LGBT activists perceive as a setback of gay and transgender rights. The Justice Department waded into a private employment lawsuit to argue that the 1964 Civil Rights Act does not protect employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. President Trump declared on Twitter that there would be a ban on transgender people serving in the military. (An official ban has yet to be put into effect.) Finally, Trump nominated Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, a staunchly anti-gay politician, as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
Bandcamp makes 15 percent from all digital sales, and 10 percent from all merchandise sales, on the site. During its fundraiser for the ACLU earlier this year, it sold an estimate $1 million worth of music and merchandise, 12 percent of which went directly to the ACLU; more than 400 artists also pledged to donate 100 percent of their proceeds. For the TLC fundraiser Friday, more than 200 bands and artists already have pledged to donate proceeds to the nonprofit, with several planning to donate over the weekend as well. Indie darlings Car Seat Headrest announced that an "alternative mix" of their upcoming single "War Is Coming (If You Want It)" will be released in conjunction with the fundraiser. Other bands, including the New York-based SAD, will be donating to transgender-focused organizations such as Apicha Community Health Center in solidarity.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
