Back in May we were convinced that Bandcamp was pulling the plug on their monthly “Bandcamp Friday” celebration in which they waive their platform fee and give 100% of profits to the artists on their platform. We’re happy to report we were wrong. Turns out they just took a bit of a summer break and now the festivities have returned for August, with reports that it will continue until at least the end of 2021.
If you’re a regular reader of this site, you know we’re huge fans of Bandcamp and the service they provide. If you’re a musician, ubiquity is the key to success. Yes, having your music on streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Music has its advantages but there’s absolutely zero downside in adding your music to Bandcamp. It creates a conduit for fans to discover your music and pay for it if they so choose. You might think we live in a era where the MP3 is a bygone relic but Bandcamp reports that $190 million in sales were made from May through July 2021, with 82% of that money going straight to the artists. That doesn’t seem like a signal that folks aren’t interested in paying for music. We won’t harp on about it but if you’re an artist, adding your music to Bandcamp is a no-brainer.
If you’re just a fan of music, Bandcamp Friday provides the opportunity to contribute to artists you enjoy in a very direct way. Discovering new music through streaming is great (which, btw, Bandcamp allows streaming) but being able to toss a few bucks to a band or artist that enriches your life is a fantastic way to ensure they have the means to continue doing so. Furthermore, with COVID-19 continuing to mutate and be tricky to navigate in the real world, buying music is a great substitute for going to shows.
All that said, we want to help guide you to some interesting selections! Follow along over on Twitter to see what we have to say or just check the curated BuyMusic.club list below for some starting points. If you’d like to go it alone in your discovery, I suggest starting here, it’s never let me down.