Somewhat surprisingly, Bandcamp recently announced that they will be joining Epic Games. Meaning, the company that makes Fortnite and the Unreal Engine will also be the parent company of everyone’s favorite artist-friendly music service. Unsurprisingly, the Internet’s reaction to this news has been quite mixed. It’s an understandable bit of pessimism but I try to keep in mind that Epic has done some good things; notably going toe-to-toe with Apple in a lawsuit to get them to bend their rules to be more creator friendly. They spent millions, lost and continue to pursue the endeavor. Yes, there are some self-serving ends to that lawsuit but they’re still putting their money where their mouth is. Long story short, the jury is still out on the acquisition and time will tell what it yields.
In the meantime, Bandcamp hasn’t changed a thing. Case in point, today is Bandcamp Friday and the company is continuing to waive their platform fee and give 100% of proceeds to artists for all purchases. Even if you have less than zero interest in owning some downloadable music, this is an opportunity to throw a few dollars to artists you love to show your appreciation.
As always, we’ll be keeping a running list of selections that we deem worth your while. We’re also tweeting about our findings if you want a bit more detail. We’ll also advise that you find your own Nashville discoveries and show your support!!