BANDCAMP have announced that they will donate all of their proceeds on Friday to the American Civil Liberties Union.
The move comes in response to Donald Trump’s executive order banning citizens and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. With the ACLU currently at the forefront of the ongoing legal challenges against Trump, the founder and CEO of Bandcamp, Ethan Diamond, has praised their “tireless” work “to combat these discriminatory and unconstitutional actions”.
The online music store, which is mostly used to promote independent artists, currently makes 15% from all digital sales and 10% from all merchandise sales on the site so it is hoped that, with further donations from the public, the money will go some way towards helping the ACLU’s work.
Diamond said in a statement: “Like 98% of U.S. citizens (including the President), I am the descendant of immigrants—my great-grandparents came to America from Russia and Lithuania as teenagers and worked in sweatshops until they were able to afford to bring the rest of their families over. Mostly everyone you speak to in this country has a similar story to tell, because we are, in fact, a nation of immigrants, bound together by a shared belief in justice, equality, and the freedom to pursue a better life. In this context, last week’s executive order barring immigrants and refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States is not simply immoral, it violates the very spirit and foundation of America.”
Trump’s actions have provoked massive criticism and outrage around the world. Countless artists have publicly decried his immigration ban, with the likes of Win Butler, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Alex Kapranos and more voicing their outrage, as seen below.
Find out more about how you can support Bandcamp here.
