Los Angeles-based B2B music licensing company Songtradr is acquiring Bandcamp from Epic Games.

Songtradr says it will continue to operate Bandcamp as a marketplace and music community with an "artist-first revenue share".

The news arrives a year and a half after Epic Games, the maker of hit video game Fortnite and Unreal Engine, acquired Bandcamp – an online music store and direct-to-fan platform.

According to a press release issued by Songtradr on Thursday (September 28), Bandcamp is used by over 5 million artists and labels.

The release adds that "this acquisition will help Bandcamp continue to grow within a music-first company and enable Songtradr to expand its capabilities to support the artist community".

Songtradr says it will also offer Bandcamp artists "the ability and choice to have their music licensed to all forms of media including content creators, game and app developers and brands".

It adds that "this will enable artists to continue to own and control their music rights, and increase their earning capacity from Songtradr’s global licensing network".

Elsewhere, the press release notes that Epic is exploring ways to partner with Songtradr to "build an inventory of music" where artists can opt-in to have their music licensed for use in Epic’s ecosystem.

Epic says it will continue to collaborate with Bandcamp on projects like Fortnite Radio and is also investing in Songtradr to support Bandcamp’s "successful integration into Songtradr".

Paul Wiltshire, CEO of Songtradr, said: "The acquisition of Bandcamp will help Songtradr continue to grow its suite of services for artists. I’m a passionate musician myself, and artistry and creativity have always been at the heart of Songtradr.

"Bandcamp will join a team of music industry veterans and artists who have deep expertise in music licensing, composition, rights management, and distribution."

Steve Allison, Vice President and General Manager, Store at Epic Games, said: “Songtradr shares Epic and Bandcamp’s values around ensuring artists are fairly compensated for their work.

“Bringing Bandcamp to Songtradr will make it easier for independent artists to connect with creators and developers looking to license their music and enable Epic to focus on its core metaverse, games, and tools efforts.”

The news comes as Epic Games today confirmed it was laying off 16% of its global workforce while divesting Bandcamp. You can read the full note sent out by Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney through here.