I started to purchase music again
I used to love the freedom Spotify and similar music streaming platforms had promised. I had access to a vast music collection everywhere for a small amount of money. Then I realized that the freedom offered was rather an illusion.
I spent long hours putting together playlists on Spotify to listen to my favorite music and share it with friends. Until one day I noticed that tracks started to disappear from the playlists because of whatever licensing issues Spotify had with the respective labels.
I also concluded that I didn’t want to depend on a paid service for the rest of my life just to be able to listen to music. I want to own a digital copy of the music. Furthermore, I want to be able to listen to my music without internet connection and even if I go poor.
Finally, I do want to support artists and make sure that the money would go to them.
Today I use Bandcamp to explore and purchase music. About 80% of the artists’ income received through Bandcamp goes directly to the artists:
We’re proud of the fact that when you choose to pay an artist on Bandcamp, your money reaches them quickly, and in a way that is simple to explain and understand. Our business, which was founded in 2008, is based on taking a revenue share of sales. Our share is 15% on digital items, and 10% on physical goods. Payment processor fees are separate and vary depending on the size of the transaction, but for an average size purchase, amount to an additional 4-7%. The remainder, usually 80-85%, goes directly to the artist or their label, and we pay out daily.
You can download your music in high quality. Bandcamp is a great platform to discover new music and receive the updates of the artists you follow.
I understand that there are various issues around Bandcamp’s authenticity after its sell out. I welcome the idea of creating a collectively owned Bandcamp successor and wish it strongly it manifests:
Bandcamp’s back-to-back acquisitions—first by Epic Games in 2022, then by Songtradr in 2023—have its community feeling betrayed and concerned about the platform they once relied on. Bandcamp’s trajectory illustrates a depressing reality of the contemporary internet: platforms position themselves as artist-friendly alternatives, only to seemingly abandon their core values and community.
It’s time for a new model - one we collectively own and control.
Until then, I consider Bandcamp the best option for now.
In 2021, we agreed with my partner that each month we’d purchase one new album. We’re still doing it up to date. We have now a beautiful, extensive collection of music that we own, that we can play offline, on any device, and can even share it with our friends.
