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Bandcamp protests ‘Muslim ban’ with ACLU donation

The direct-to-fan platform will donate its profits from all sales on 3 February to the American Civil Liberties Union to combat the 'un-American' executive order 13769

By IQ on 01 Feb 2017

Donald Trump, Ottumwa, Iowa, September 2016, Evan Guest

Then-presidential candidate Trump in Iowa last September


image © Evan Guest

Bandcamp, a platform for artists to sell tickets, music and merch direct to fans (D2F), has announced it will donate all profits this Friday to the American Civil Liberties Union in protest against US president Donald Trump’s so-called ‘Muslim ban’.

In an open letter, company founder and CEO Ethan Diamond attacks the introduction of executive order 13769, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, which bars the entry of Iraqis, Iranians, Libyans, Somalians, Sudanese, Syrians and Yemenis into the US for 90 days and has been criticised by the president’s opponents as Islamophobic.

“Like 98% of US 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,” he writes.

“Last week’s executive order barring immigrants from seven Middle-Eastern countries from entering the US is not simply immoral, it violates the very spirit and foundation of America”

“[Almost] 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. […]

“And so all day this Friday, 3 February (starting at 12.01 am Pacific Time), for any purchase you make on Bandcamp we will be donating 100% of our share of the proceeds to the American Civil Liberties Union, who are working tirelessly to combat these discriminatory and unconstitutional actions.”

Bandcamp announced last April it had paid US$150 million to artists on the platform since its founding in 2008.

IQ spoke to promoters and agents in the Americas in November about what Trump’s shock election means for the international live music industry.

 


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