Read on Twitter
Coupla thoughts on #BandcampFriday - what Bandcamp have done here is amazing, for a number of reasons. Firstly, as with everything they do, it's about making money for artists and small labels, so more art can get made. The mission statement is simple...
There's nothing in the Bandcamp information environment that sees just listening to someone's music as somehow gesturally enough. Unlike streaming platforms where giving someone literally 2p worth of streaming time feels like advocacy, Bandcamp's funnel ends with BUYING.
The opening listening environment on the platform is so that you can decide what to buy. Sure, it makes it possible to listen to a ton of stuff and buy nothing, but you're acutely aware that the system is designed to make money for artists. And when that happens BC does OK.
There's no mechanism by with Bandcamp makes money and we don't. None. So how does that make #BandcampFriday so special? Because they're giving up their one method of income on the day that they've engineered to be their biggest sales day EVERY month. They get nada.
They have to deal with the massive influx of traffic and sales and server load. They staff the support calls from confused first time buyers. And there's no ad revenue, no backhanded way to build capital elsewhere, no investors to entice with big numbers...
It's literally this simple - a private company run by people who love music saw a chance to make things better for musicians. No optics, no big strategy, just 'we can do this, let's do this so artists make some money'. And that's where we come in as music fans. It's an invitation
The invitation isn't 'use our platform, make us rich, allow us to scrape your data'. It's 'partner with us to protect artists who are absolutely fucked in the middle of this pandemic. We're giving them everything on this day, so come buy some music' It's revolutionary. literally.
None of the big companies who've monopolised music listening over the last 15 years can or will do this. None of them are ever altruistic. Spotify, Google, Apple, Tidal…no-one is doing this. Songwriters are literally suing Spotify to get paid.
Meaning Bandcamp are helping
Meaning Bandcamp are helping
Now, I'm sure Bandcamp are well aware that a massively increased userbase from this particular strategy will be great for them long term. But guess what? It HAS to be 8-9 times as good for artists for that to happen. We always win. Art wins. Sustainability wins. That's the deal.
So, today, #BandcampFriday, go find a new soundtrack. Use the discovery tools on Bandcamp's front page, or just subscribe to me and get a shitload of fabulous music for not much money. Obviously that's my top tip :) http://stevelawson.bandcamp.com/subscribe - this is where all my music lives.
But Bandcamp is also where I buy music - so you can check out everything I recommend with my actual wallet in my Bandcamp fan account - stuff that I've bought and love is here: http://bandcamp.com/solobasssteve - It's the sustainable future for independent music.
Pandemic + Brexit + Spotify paying almost nothing has put a huge number of musicians in a really really precarious position, and the govt response is 'retrain in cyber!' after decades of crowing about our 'world class creative industries'. Thanks Sunak, you wangbag.
Sure, sign petitions, but please don't ignore the practical invitation to support music by buying it that #BandcampFriday represents. It's not a tricky proposition. It's a farmers market not a supermarket, go find some artisan goods, direct from the source https://stevelawson.bandcamp.com/subscribe
