China has blocked its users from buying of selling music via the online music retailer.

Earlier this week it was reported by Radii China and censorship watchdog Greatfire.org that Chinese users appeared to be blocked from accessing Bandcamp.

Bandcamp is an online music store where record labels and artists can sell music direct to fans without having to pay third parties such as distributors.

The platform is aimed to help empower musicians and independent record labels who often claimed to feel their music was hidden behind the music of larger corporations in other stores. Or sometimes not stocked at all if they were making music for a niche audience.

Electronic music is very popular on Bandcamp, and it’s often considered a diggers paradise for DJs who want tracks that often aren’t available anywhere else.

News of China being banned from the platform is sad news, as it further restricts people living in the country from connecting with music from the rest of the world, or being able to build an overseas fan base.

This is part of an increasingly restrictive digital landscape for Chinese citizens, whose internet access is incredibly limited by the Great Firewall, which is a sophisticated censorship campaign that aims to ban a variety of foreign websites, restrict content, and surveils citizens internet use.

H/T: Vice