Bandcamp

❧

Wikipedia

Bandcamp, Inc.
Type of site
Subsidiary
Founded2008; 17 years ago (2008)
Founders
  • Ethan Diamond
  • Shawn Grunberger
  • Joe Holt
  • Neal Tucker
IndustryMusic streaming, music purchasing
Parent
URLbandcamp.com

Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker,[1][2][3][4] with an office and record store in Oakland, California.[5] It was acquired by Epic Games in March 2022 and sold to the music-licensing company Songtradr in October 2023; about half of Bandcamp staff did not receive offers to continue under the new owner.[6][7]

History

Bandcamp office and record store in Oakland, California

Bandcamp was founded in 2008 by Ethan Diamond (CEO) and programmers Shawn Grunberger (CFO), Joe Holt and Neal Tucker. In 2019, Bandcamp opened its first office and record store in Oakland, California.[5]

In 2010, the site enabled embedding in other websites and shared links on social media sites.[8]

As of August 2020, half of Bandcamp's revenue was from sales for physical products.[9]

In November 2020, Bandcamp launched Bandcamp Live, a ticketed live-streaming service for artists. The service is an integrated feature of the Bandcamp website. Fees on tickets were waived until March 31, 2021, and became 10% from then.[10][11]

Bandcamp provides vinyl pressing services for artists. After a 50-artist pilot in 2020, the company opened limited access to 10,000 artists in early 2021 with plans for further expansion. Their fans preorder the pressing rather than having the artist fund it upfront. Bandcamp lets artists set their own price. The company's two million vinyl sales in 2020 doubled that of 2019.[12]

In March 2022, Epic Games acquired Bandcamp; the companies said the service would continue to operate as a stand-alone marketplace.[13]

Bandcamp's employees voted to form a union via the Office and Professional Employees International Union in March 2023.[14][15] On September 28, 2023, Epic Games announced that it was laying off 870 people, roughly 16% of its workforce. As part of this, Bandcamp was sold to Songtradr, another music platform.[16] According to an Epic Games spokesperson, Songtradr incrementally offered employment to the Bandcamp staff.[17]

Following Epic’s September 2023 layoffs and the sale to Songtradr, reporting indicated roughly half of Bandcamp employees were not extended offers by the buyer; staff also reported access issues during the transition period.[18][19]

In an internal email, Songtradr's CEO, Paul Wiltshire, said that Bandcamp's financial state had "not been healthy" due to increased operating costs over steady revenues, despite the site's continuous profitability.[20] In response to the layoffs, users and artists of the platform expressed anxiety about its future.[21][22] As of December 2023, Songtradr had not formally recognized the Bandcamp union.[23]

Business model

Artists and labels upload music to Bandcamp and control how they sell it, setting their own prices, offering users the option to pay more,[24] and selling merchandise.

The company takes a 15% commission on sales made from their website, which drops to 10% after an artist's sales surpass US$5,000, plus payment processing fees.[25]

Downloads are offered in lossy formats MP3 (LAME, 320k or V0), AAC and Ogg Vorbis, and in lossless formats FLAC, ALAC, WAV and AIFF.[26]

In 2021 Bandcamp expanded a vinyl pressing program that lets artists crowdfund production runs; industry coverage noted fans bought about two million vinyl LPs on the platform in 2020, double 2019’s total.[27]

Charity

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 Bandcamp periodically waived its revenue share on designated “Bandcamp Fridays.” Media reported the initiative raised more than US$40 million for artists in 2020 and continued into 2021 with additional dates.[28][29]

In response to the protests that took place following the murder of George Floyd and other African Americans who had died from police violence, Bandcamp announced that for 24 hours on June 19, 2020 they would donate 100% of profits to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.[30]

Also, in response to the Southern California wildfires of January 2025, Bandcamp announced that they would donate all of their proceeds from February 7 to MusiCares to support those affected by it.[31]

Notable artists and labels

Bandcamp gained much attention in July 2010 when Amanda Palmer, Low Places and Bedhed gave up their record labels and started selling albums on Bandcamp, using Twitter for promotion.[32][33] Will Toledo initially released his 2011 studio album Twin Fantasy on Bandcamp.

Several indie game developers published their game soundtracks on Bandcamp, including the creators of Terraria[34][35] and Minecraft,[36] among others.

In December 2014, Bandcamp for Labels was launched. Popular independent labels such as Sub Pop, Fat Wreck Chords, Relapse Records and Epitaph Records launched their own Bandcamp pages.[37] In November 2019, Peter Gabriel added his complete solo catalog to Bandcamp.[38] On June 18, 2020, Björk published her discography on the platform.[39] In December, UK label Warp joined Bandcamp; this made records by Hudson Mohawke, Aphex Twin, Kelela and other artists available on the platform.[40] On October 21, 2021, Radiohead published their discography on the platform.[41]

Bandcamp Daily

In the summer of 2016, their editorial content was expanded by launching Bandcamp Daily, an online music publication about artists on the platform.[42][43] The publication is based in New York.[5] Its managing editor was JJ Skolnik, a writer for Pitchfork, BuzzFeed and The New York Times, as well as former author of punk zines.[44] They were made redundant in October 2023.[45] Among Bandcamp Daily's columnists have been writers of Wired,[46] Vice,[47] NPR Music,[48] Pitchfork[49] and Paste.[50]

On August 4, 2017, the staff of Bandcamp Daily donated all of the day's sales proceeds to the Transgender Law Center, a civil rights organization for transgender people.[51]

By February 2018, the audience of Bandcamp Daily had increased 84% since the previous year.[43][52]

References

  1. ↑ John, Tozzi (November 17, 2011). "Helping Indie Musicians Market Their Tunes". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Private Company Financial Report on Bandcamp, Inc". PrivCo. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ Sam, Clearman (October 1, 2008). "An interview with Joe Holt". The HTML Times. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ Ethan, Maffey (July 18, 2012). "The Best of Bandcamp: Get in on the ground floor with these sell-it-yourself bands". The Source Weekly. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2013. Web developers and friends Ethan Diamond, Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker launched Bandcamp in 2008
  5. 1 2 3 Lefebvre, Sam (January 17, 2019). "Inside Bandcamp's New Oakland Venue, Record Shop and Office". KQED. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  6. ↑ Sisario, Ben (March 2, 2022). "Gaming Giant Behind Fortnite Buys Bandcamp, an Indie Music Haven". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  7. ↑ Parrish, Ash (October 16, 2023). "About half of Bandcamp employees have been laid off". The Verge. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Full Tracklist Players, Facebook Love". The Bandcamp Blog. September 10, 2010. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  9. ↑ Krukowski, Damon (August 19, 2020). "A Tale Of Two Ecosystems: On Bandcamp, Spotify And The Wide-Open Future". NPR. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  10. ↑ Yoo, Noah (November 17, 2020). "Bandcamp Launches New Livestreaming Service for Artists". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  11. ↑ Tatiana, Cirisano (November 17, 2020). "Here's How Bandcamp's New Livestreaming Platform Stacks Up". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  12. ↑ Millman, Ethan (January 14, 2021). "Bandcamp Will Make Vinyl Records For You". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  13. ↑ Sisario, Ben (March 2, 2022). "Gaming Giant Behind Fortnite Buys Bandcamp, an Indie Music Haven". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  14. ↑ Hussey, Allison (March 17, 2023). "Bandcamp Employees Form Union". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  15. ↑ Council, Stephen (October 17, 2023). "Every member of Bandcamp union bargaining team was laid off in huge cuts at Oakland firm". SFGate. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Fortnite maker Epic Games cutting 16% of workforce". BBC News. September 28, 2023. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  17. ↑ Carter, Justin (October 16, 2023). "Epic Games cuts almost half of Bandcamp pre-Songtradr sale". Game Developer. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  18. ↑ Parrish, Ash (October 16, 2023). "About half of Bandcamp employees have been laid off". The Verge. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Epic Games' Sale of Bandcamp Has Left the Artist-Friendly Music Platform in Limbo". Wired. October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  20. ↑ Council, Stephen (October 16, 2023). "Bandcamp, Oakland-based music industry darling, gutted by 50% layoff". SFGate. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  21. ↑ Harrington, Caitlin. "Epic Games' Sale of Bandcamp Has Left the Artist-Friendly Music Platform in Limbo". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  22. ↑ Parrish, Ash (October 16, 2023). "About half of Bandcamp employees have been laid off". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  23. ↑ Cartledge, Luke (December 20, 2023). "Bandcamp's New Owner Has Gone After the Company's Unionized Workforce". Jacobin. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Bandcamp Help". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  25. ↑ James Shotwell (June 20, 2010). "Bandcamp.com changes business model". Alt Press. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  26. ↑ Bandcamp - In which formats can I download my purchases, archived from the original on February 20, 2019, retrieved February 19, 2019
  27. ↑ Millman, Ethan (January 14, 2021). "Bandcamp Will Make Vinyl Records for You". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  28. ↑ Turman, Katherine (December 15, 2020). "'Bandcamp Fridays' Raised $40 Million for Artists, Will Continue in 2021". Spin. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  29. ↑ "'Bandcamp Fridays' have raised over $40 million for artists and labels in 2020". NME. December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Bandcamp Directing Profits to NAACP Legal Defense Fund". Pitchfork. June 2020. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  31. ↑ "California Wildfire Relief Fundraiser and Bandcamp Fridays in 2025". Bandcamp Daily. January 29, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  32. ↑ Caroline Klibanoff (July 27, 2010). "Amanda Palmer Brings in $15,000 on Bandcamp in Three Minutes". Paste Magazine. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  33. ↑ Glenn Peoples (June 22, 2010). "Amanda Palmer Sells $15K Worth Of Music, Merch In Three Min". Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  34. ↑ Lloyd Shelly, Scott (February 13, 2012). "IAm the composer of the Terraria soundtrack, Scott Lloyd Shelly, AMA". Reddit. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  35. ↑ Lloyd Shelly, Scott. "Terraria Soundtrack". Bandcamp. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  36. ↑ Rosenfeld, Daniel. "Minecraft - Volume Alpha". Bandcamp. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Fat Wreck, Epitaph, Sub-Pop Get Bandcamp Pages". Riffyou.com. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Peter Gabriel's Solo Discography Comes to Bandcamp". Bandcamp Daily. November 15, 2019. Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  39. ↑ Christian Eede (June 18, 2020), "Björk's Discography Is Now On Bandcamp", thequietus.com, The Quietus, retrieved April 11, 2024
  40. ↑ "Warp Records are now on Bandcamp". Crack Magazine. December 1, 2020. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  41. ↑ Sofia Mahirova (October 22, 2021), "You can now stream the entirety of Radiohead's back catalogue on Bandcamp", dazeddigital.com, Dazed, retrieved April 11, 2024
  42. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (August 19, 2016). "Is Bandcamp the Holy Grail of Online Record Stores?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  43. 1 2 Mahadevan, Tara (February 14, 2018). "Musicians Earned Over $270 Million From Bandcamp Last Year". Complex. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  44. ↑ Serota, Maggie (November 10, 2017). "It's OK If You Don't Have Your Career Figured Out by 30". Glamour. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  45. ↑ ""Half of Bandcamp's staff made redundant as Songtradr acquisition is completed"". October 17, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  46. ↑ Chandler, Simon (January 22, 2019). "Outsourcing Police Investigations to Google Risks Privacy and Justice". Truthout. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Zachary Lipez's Articles". Inc.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Subscribe to The Hash Podcast — New Season January 8th!". December 20, 2018. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  49. ↑ Siebert, Michael. "Dennis Cooper doesn't want you to look away". The Outline. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Channel Tres' blend of G-Funk and minimal house is the rap risk we've been waiting for". August 8, 2018. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  51. ↑ Sodomsky, Sam (July 31, 2017). "Bandcamp Donating Proceeds to Transgender Law Center This Friday". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  52. ↑ Stutz, Colin (February 13, 2018). "Bandcamp Paid Musicians Over $70M in 2017". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2019.