FEATURE: Fridays I’m in Love: Why Bandcamp’s Attitude Towards Artists Should Give Spotify and Other Platforms Pause for Thought  

FEATURE:

 

Fridays I’m in Love

aaaaa.jpeg

IN THIS PHOTO: The Anchoress

Why Bandcamp’s Attitude Towards Artists Should Give Spotify and Other Platforms Pause for Thought  

___________

IN terms of music news…

IMAGE CREDIT: Bandcamp

there has not been much to cheer about these past few months! It has been a bleak and unstable time, and, from venues facing closure and large sections of the industry facing peril, alongside that is artists struggling to make ends meet. We all know that life on streaming platforms is pretty tough for most artists. Unless you are a mainstream artists who can command millions of streams per song, you are not going to be making a realistic wage from sites like Spotify. It is not just them that are guilty of paying of paying artists so little, but it does seem ridiculous that, at a time when artists cannot tour and they are seeing their revenue cut to the bone, that there has not been a revision of the guidelines regarding payment! I guess streaming sites cannot afford to pay too much per stream, but there has to be some sort of change whereby smaller artists are having their music promoted because, right now, most adverts and attention is levied the way of big artists who are not exactly struggling for money! Luckily, there is a platform that is conscious of the difficult time, and they are responding. Bandcamp, to me, has always been one of the fairest-minded and conscious of the big platforms. The Bandcamp Fridays has helped so many artists and labels.

This article from Vice explains a bit more:

“There's not enough good news. But thankfully, there's been one positive in an otherwise dire year and it's that Bandcamp has been waiving its revenue share for all online sales on the first Friday of every month since March. So far, the first four "Bandcamp Fridays" have generated over $20 million dollars directly for artists and labels. With live music on an indefinite and already-too-long hiatus, this is potentially life-altering money for any struggling artist. While it's not going to fix the struggles of the music industry this year, these promotions, which are continuing throughout 2020, are undeniably meaningful.

In a world where streaming services pay out fractions of a penny and Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek claims that "you can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough," it's more important than ever to vote with your wallet. Buying directly from artists on Bandcamp—and from your local independent record store—are the absolute best ways to get money into the hands of musicians. While there's an endless list of deserving talents who need support, here is a list of five acts worth considering on August's Bandcamp Friday”.

It is always tough being able to get money into musicians’ hands through streaming sites. Even with physical releases, one wonders how much goes to the label and whether the act gets a reasonable slice of the pie.

I do worry that too much money is going to massive organisations, and so little is making its way to artists. In an article from The Star Tribune, it seems like Bandcamp is making waves in a way other streaming sites are not:

“Most musicians see Bandcamp as a better alternative to Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming sites, which pay a fraction of a penny for each song stream. Bandcamp offers limited streaming for free but focuses more on download and physical album purchases, from which it takes 10 to 15% of each sale (on the other days of the month).

Many of the country’s biggest indie-rock labels have also cozied up to Bandcamp and its Friday, including Sub Pop, Epitaph, Jagjaguwar and Merge.

Mac McCaughan, founder of Merge Records and singer in Superchunk, recently said of Bandcamp in online magazine Pitchfork: “When someone recommends something I’ve never heard of before, that’s often the first place I’ll go”.

Some argue Bandcamp’s fees are too high and they suffer the same sort of greed as other streaming services/platfirms, but I think it is incredible hard to be ethical and remain in business. The fact that there have been these Bandcamp Fridays is a real step in the right direction, and maybe Tidal, Spotify and Apple might follow suit. Things are going to be a struggle for artists for the remainder of the year, and the next year is looking pretty uncertain, depending on what happens with COVID-19.

I have seen so many artists take to social media and extol the benefit’s of Bandcamp’s initiative, and how much it has helped them. If you need recommendations of which artists to support on Bandcamp, there are articles that will point you in the right direction. Bandcamp themselves have provided some guidance as to how music fans can do their bit, if their situation affords that freedom:

“We recognize that plenty of music fans are also seeing their livelihoods disrupted by this virus, but if you’re lucky enough to be in a position to spare some funds (or find yourself in that position in the coming months), please consider sharing your good fortune by buying music and merchandise directly from artists on Bandcamp. Today, Bandcamp’s share of sales will also go to the artists and labels you choose to support, and as always, it will reach them in 24-48 hours.

If you already have all the music and merchandise you want from your favorite artists, consider discovering new favorites via our editorial publication, Bandcamp Daily — our best-of’s are a great place to start. Bandcamp Discover is another solid way to find new favorites, and browse our inventory of over 800,000 unique physical items, including vinyl, cassettes, and more. You can also send your favorite music and merch to a friend (there’s a “send as gift” option below every item on an album page and in your collection), or give them a Bandcamp gift card and let them make their own selections.

Finally, most of the items on Bandcamp have an option to pay more than the asking price, and leave a note for the artist. A tip and words of support are always appreciated, but especially so now”.

The latest Bandcamp Friday (from two days ago) brought in a lot of money through sales, and that is not the end of it. Bandcamp are keen to keep the ball rolling until the end of the year:

“Because the pandemic is far from over, we’ll continue to hold Bandcamp Fridays on the first Friday of every month until the end of the year. A more detailed calendar is below.

Stay tuned for more details, and until then we’ll continue working to make Bandcamp the best place to support artists every single day. Thank you again, and we wish you all safety and good health.

// bandcamp

Bandcamp Fridays 2020 Calendar:

August 7, 2020

September 4, 2020

October 2, 2020

November 6, 2020

December 4, 2020”.

I know every corner of the music industry is in a tricky spot, and it is easy to vilify streaming services, but movements and great incentives like Bandcamp Friday should spur others forward. At a time when Spotify seem to be pushing artists away, I think they could learn a lot from Bandcamp. Just once a month, if you have some spare pennies, hop onto Bandcamp on their Bandcamp Fridays, and help artists out. Not only has Bandcamp Fridays made a big difference to so many artists, but it has given me new respect…

IN THIS IMAGE: The album cover for Dog Day’s Present (due for release on 14th August)

FOR a terrific platform.

Sam Liddicott