Published
Wed, May 5, 2021, 14:40
- We spoke with cofounder Niks Delanancy about the platform's relaunch.
Black Bandcamp has relaunched with a new name: Black Artist Database, or B.A.D.
The name change marks a shift in focus, expanding the remit beyond Black-owned record labels, artists, producers and bands with Bandcamp accounts to include creatives of all types and collaborations with other music platforms.
"B.A.D. stuck with us because the abbreviation has quite a strong visual and phonetic affiliation", cofounder Niks Delanancy told Resident Advisor. "If you think about the direction that we're going to expand the database in and the different groups we'll be working with, B.A.D. has a very strong visual presence."
To coincide with the relaunch, B.A.D. is starting a mix series with a set by Detroit legend Eddie Fowlkes, and adding a new episode to the Voices podcast. Up next is an interview with Los Angeles artist Eddington Again hosted by writer, editor and speaker Christine Kakaire.
B.A.D. has also announced an exclusive three-month Pro Creative account deal with Mixcloud as well as new search functions on the platform's website, allowing users to filter profiles based on field of work, gender, location and music genre.
Set up following last year's Black Lives Matter uprisings, Black Bandcamp quickly became known as the go-to grassroots source for Black underground music. At its peak, volunteers were fielding some 300 submissions a week. What began as an informal five-person working group slowly morphed into a 20-strong team spanning four continents and collaborations across tech, editorial and partnership projects.
The platform currently hosts more than 3,500 profiles and organisers are keen to expand. "We are encouraging creatives to add themselves because we want to ensure Black writers, journalists, web designers, graphic designers are showcased," Delanancy said. A launch of this database is scheduled for the coming weeks.
B.A.D. has also announced [pause], an initiative to help create a more equitable environment for Black folk working in the music industry and the electronic music industry in particular. The platform has been approached by a number of companies focusing on diversity and inclusion and decided to establish a separate wing dedicated to long-term partnerships.
The ultimate goal is to help companies rethink internal processes and create sustainable work opportunities for Black employees. "It felt very natural to streamline a process where people can come and talk to us about what they would like to do to do better," Delanancy explained "before we jump back into festivals and events, booking the same lineups."
B.A.D. comes at an opportune time. In its recent diversity report, trade body UK Music found that ethnic minorities made up around 22.3 percent of the industry's workforce, an improvement on 17.8 percent in 2018 and 15.6 percent in 2016. However, the inverse was true when it came to income brackets. Around 12.2 percent of those earning more than £100,000 per year in the industry were non-white, a stark figure when compared to 33.6 percent in the less than £15,000 bracket. B.A.D. is eager to see change in the upper echelons of management and is encouraging businesses to continue reaching out.
"If you felt charged about anything that happened over the past year, or you've learned anything from the past year, [pause] is a good place to have an initial conversation," Delanancy said. "And if you're curious about the kind of future landscape of the electronic music industry, that's also an interesting point to start."
Black creatives can submit their profile here.
