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.

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As you can see from the picture, the service highly resembles pretty much in every way YouTube, Twitch and every other video platform. Despite these two, especially Twitch, it faithfully follows Bandcamp’s clean design, minimizing the visual elements on the screen. Is this a plus? Absolutely yes in my opinion. I’m honestly tired of the insane amount of notification I have to deal with while watching content on Facebook or Twitch. As expected, the platform features a chat (which is optional) where artists or designated moderators can interact with the audience. In line with the overall interface, also the chat functions are strictly essential and, as far as I have seen, besides texted messages and emoji only shows purchases made in the merch table. The chat is not available while rewatching the show (the recording is available only for 24h hours).

The merch table is available right beneath the streaming window and definitely represents the highlight of Bandcamp Live. As you can see in the picture, Keeno’s brand new album I Live, I Learn was available for pre-order exactly below the actual stream, removing any kind of friction between the fans and the possibility to purchase the LP in every moment of the show. It’s easy to understand how this feature will become extremely handy in conjunction with EPs and album launches and in combination with Bandcamp Fridays. In this regard, Bandcamp offers the very interesting option of bundling a digital release with the purchase of a live stream ticket. This way, as stated on the support page, you could stream an album launch party and include the album in the ticket price. While by default, the merch table will feature eight of your recent releases, the real potential of this feature can be exploited by picking the most pertinent music or merch for each event. Even though I’m aware of the remarkable convenience of tips and donations, personally I love to attend a show in a space, even a virtual one, where I’m surrounded by the artists’ works and where I have the chance to support them by directly buying their art.

Bandcamp Live might not be anything revolutionary (you still need to use OBS or other broadcasting software), but represents a solid alternative for all the artists that want to capitalize on their audience on the platform without creating the umpteenth account on the umpteenth service. With this announcement, Bandcamp moves a step into the direction taken by some new generation companies which aim to be all-in-one destinations for independent artists, featuring social, streaming and revenue sources in a single ecosystem. At the moment Bandcamp Live is not available to every artist account. If you’re interested in benefit from this new feature, you can visit this page. The service will remain free until March 31st, 2021 and after that, Bandcamp will take a 10% fee.

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Social Initiatives

Before diving headfirst into Bandcamp’s back-end systems, it’s important to touch on the overriding chaos of present-day society. At the risk of sounding monotonous, the global pandemic’s grim economic results continue to affect a vast majority of artists. More than ever before, these artists need the financial support of outside aid and are paying closer attention to the communities that care.

Upon the immediate loss of live performances, Bandcamp took swift action in offering monetary support for musicians by waiving their platform’s revenue cuts on all purchases. On March 20th, May 1st, June 5th, and July 3rd of this year, 100% of all revenue were given directly to artists, arriving within a 24 to 48-hour timeframe. The platform dubs these predetermined periods as Bandcamp Days, serving as a time when fans can organically support the artists they admire.

Alongside the financial support for struggling artists affected by COVID-19, Bandcamp stood in solidarity with people of color, answering the desperate call for social justice with their Juneteenth initiative. On this day of observance for the black community, the platform donated 100% of their financial cuts to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Diverse Revenue Options And Fair Artist Percentages

Thriving on the belief that artists of varying audiences deserve fair compensation and transparency for their work, Bandcamp’s mission openly provides clear and concise information accessible to both fans and artists. An ethical anomaly in the otherwise capitalist industry, this platform is an active contributor to independent creators’ support. And the proof is in the details.

Offering free accounts to all artists (with options for premium accounts billed monthly), Bandcamp claims a minor 15% off all digital revenue in exchange for their services, leaving the remaining 85% for the artist. Alongside digital sales, artists and labels may choose to diversify their income through merchandise distribution, offering their fans a seamless one-stop-shop experience. For those physical merchandise sales, Bandcamp claims just 10%. In simpler words, the artists make more money than the platform itself: A model any music fan should stand behind. Unlike its major competitors, Bandcamp is public about their percentage allocations as this information can be located directly on their website. The good guys usually have nothing to hide.

Commercial Control And Optimal Quality

As an ideal additive to an already supreme system, Bandcamp allows artists to have total commercial control over their work. Yes, we said TOTAL control. The artist can determine the price of their music and may change that price at their discretion, any given time. The platform’s flexibility may also allow fans to contribute a higher amount than the minimum asking price for an item. Additionally, artists can bundle their digital items with physical merchandise at competitive prices, offering fans a wider variety of supporting options. The sky’s the limit.

And if the do-it-yourself character isn’t convincing enough, Bandcamp offers every high-quality download format imaginable to ensure purchasers receive optimal auditory experiences every time. Now, combine the possibilities above with real-time statics, simplified order fulfillments, personalized discount codes for fans, search engine optimization, and sales report submissions for music charts. The opportunities for Bandcamp Artists are limitless.

Fan To Artist Interaction

Bandcamp now allows more opportunities for fans to connect and discover artists in a vastly diverse yet straight-forward manner by introducing fan accounts. Here, fans can comment on a musician’s work, create tracklists, share their thoughts on specific pieces, and exchange those track selections with other fans. These supporters can then follow each other’s accounts, connect over the shared similarities in music preferences, and directly purchase their new finds. Once an artist’s work is purchased and downloaded, the fan will then receive personalized emails pertaining to future releases. It’s fan engagement on steroids, and it only gets better.

Through Bandcamp’s music feed, audiophiles can browse the activity of the fans and artists they follow. That includes recent song picks, fresh releases, and track purchases. The platform will then notify users when other individuals purchase music from their selections. The enrichment of fan-to-fan connection and artist-to-fan engagement, opens the doors of opportunity for broader music discovery, and artist growth.

The offerings provided by Bandcamp present a wide array of opportunities for independent artists and labels. From social initiatives to fair revenue splits, their willingness to allow complete commercial control over work and fan connection makes them the most promising platform for creators. And, for the fans, Bandcamp delivers endless opportunities to discover and support artists during these times of financial difficulty.

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