This is what I call an unexpected move. Bandcamp joins Epic Games. What will happen now from the union between the platform for independent musicians and the video game behemoth behind Fortnite? Nothing clear transpires from the official announcement.
Bandcamp will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community, and I [Ethan Diamond Bandcamp co-founder and CEO] will continue to lead our team. The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model (where artists net an average of 82% of every sale), you’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music.
These first words seem to put to rest the fears of many hardcore users, who appear to feel already resigned to see their indie-paradise fading away under the push of Epic. Diamond continues revealing that other companies have approached Bandcamp over the years, but only the game company “tickled” all the right parameters. The CEO specifically praises Epic’s efforts to champion a fair and open Internet and build an artist-friendly ecosystem. As previously mentioned, there are no breakup announcements yet and it looks like little will change in the near future for Bandcamp (including the debated Bandcamp Fridays and the Live platform). On a technical level, Diamond anticipated that “this new chapter will allow the music platform “to work with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.”
You can read both Bandcamp and Epic official statements here and here.
