Is Bandcamp dead? Now what?

[@eliasquiloo]

For me BANDCAMP is more alive than ever, for me it's the perfect place to find the most original music I've ever heard.

[@iveno_]

Agree, pls check me out iveno

[@eliasquiloo]

@@chestyvulva Great, I'll look for you, I like the experimental one

[@SylainFrelinMusic]

I'm on it

[@SylainFrelinMusic]

​@@chestyvulvaje le test en ce moment mais comment avoir des abonnés avec une chanson passée en radio?

[@justincaldwell2527]

I am being sarcastic here but when you said " How come we can't have nice stuff" sitting in front thousands of dollars of gear I have to laugh.

[@Aetila]

This is what I say when I can't afford a....PolyEvolver. 🙂

[@GizzyDillespee]

Calls a Polyevolver "nice"... that thing's gonna smack you when you turn around...

[@tuseemusic6269]

Pretty ironic lol

[@overciy9thquadrant992]

WHY CANT WE SUSTAIN NICENESS WITHOUT NARCISSISTIC FORCES SUBVERTING HUMAN HAPPINESS 😠

@@overciy9thquadrant992 amen

[@andycordy5190]

I am a Bandcamp consumer rather than a producer. If it does change, I sincerely hope that I can continue to find good new music in its revised form. I have never made a serious attempt to monetize my music nor have I ever felt obliged to change what I do with my music to satisfy the manager, plugger, journalist etc., because my income stream comes from elsewhere. I like being able to buy music easily online or tickets to gigs and in so doing help independent artists labels and venues whose work I admire.

[@Turtlpwr]

Being an artist these days is so overwhelming and depressing. Especially if you also struggle with being on the autism spectrum. So hard to keep up with everything. Gives me constant sensory overload with the amount of things you have to do and manage now.

[@kirabarsmith9353]

That's by design, those who run our system don't want authentic people to have a voice at all, while making it appear we have a level playing field.

[@Turtlpwr]

@@kirabarsmith9353 yep, and fk every single one of em for it

[@WaveRiderMusic]

feel the same :)

[@slinkywhite9255]

​@@kirabarsmith9353autistic not authentic 💀

[@ELEMENTSGenerativeMusic]

I remember the time when MySpace was the best platform, it was a small but friendly community, where you could contact with your favorite artists, even if they are the big stars. You could talk to them about music gear, song writing, or about everything. Good old times :(

[@kierenmoore3236]

I think they probably had media managers back then, too … Don’t you?! 🤔 What huge stars did you chat with via their MySpace page?

[@eroero830]

I think some high profile people have asked in the past for directly being given stuff like letters so they can actually respond because they actually appreciate the connection to the fans.​@@kierenmoore3236 I understand your cynicism, but the internet at that time was really really really different.

[@mattmarket5642]

What are you talking about? We must have used different MySpace sites.

[@SartorialisticSavage65]

@@kierenmoore3236 haha Pretty sure he's talking about Garage bands and shit bro. It ain't like that when you play to small crowds in dive bars.

[@kierenmoore3236]

@@SartorialisticSavage65 lol, ah, ok! ☺️🤙🏼

[@pjohns92]

Not to be too negative but my hopes aren't high for Bandcamp, I'm in the process of collecting all my library of purchases and uploads since using the platform for nearly a decade I've not only built a substantial library of other artists work but it's also been where I keep the majority of what I make as an independant artist. Your video does help me feel calmer as a reminder that alternatives have always existed and will continue to but I just feel so downtrodden that what was a hub for me for such a long time is in jeoprady. Thanks for making your video, I really appreciate your take on topics like this x

[@_british2431]

The one thing that always confuses me when people say to do email lists and stuff is how are they actually effective? Most people get such a high volume of fluff emails that it makes it difficult to find something you actually want to see, I spend a lot of time unsubscribing from the emails i don't want to see but it still seems like it's never ending. it might be a generational thing, but unfortunately I don't know anyone in my age group who checks their email for anything other than work/school (in which case it's a separate email account) or for password reset / two step auth codes :(

[@ScottofOakland]

I'd say if there's an artist that you're genuinely interested in, you would follow them on many different platforms and I'd personally be excited to see an email from them.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Email absolutely still works. The difficulty is finding a way to consistently provide value that will make people want to opt in/stick around. For me, this has meant getting better at writing and sharing my own experiences via short form platforms and KZbin in addition to continuing to release good music. It all works together. It’s more work than most people are comfortable with, but to me it’s worth it and better than feeling overwhelmed and aimless.

[@MikeRenouf]

The main value of email is, as Jameson says, no one can take away your connection to your audience if you have their email addresses. If discord goes down, Facebook blocks you or someone steals your Twitter account, you lose all your connections to people. The platform owns your network. Email let's you connect on the most basic and robust level. If you have valued customers you can recover many of your connections via well-worded emails and migrate them over to another Comms method if needed.

[@odobenus159]

You're dead right. Email lists might work for certain demographics (old people) but most do not check their email regularly and when we do it's all spam. Same reason why we *ALL* have entirely separate emails for business inquiries...

[@UmbraSonax]

Companies and people who really know what they are doing with marketing love email lists and it isn't a generational thing for them. If the target are young folks they have no problem using email lists, email are super powerful. Of course that depends on the niche and what they are selling too. When it comes to selling courses and education it works really well. When it comes to listeners, i haven't seen that personally, probably not the best because when it's about just listening music, people want an app to listen and that's it. Great for big streaming companies, bad for artists. That's one reason why selling knowledge and courses is becoming the way to go for many musicians and artists in general. But yeah, i mean newer generations are funneled with social media for the most part IMO.

[@rockpapersniper5105]

As a listener having to deal with a website for each artist would be awful

[@garygimmestad4272]

If consumer-convenient platforms are untenable and unprofitable for artists, their only option is to go private. Bandcamp grew with a reputation as the safest harbor for artists. It seems likely that to many artists Bandcamp’s acquisition is the writing on the wall. At the very least, it’s no longer the safest harbor. If artists are compelled to move on they risk losing their hard-earned following. Is an artist-owned collective possible? A marketplace where consumers have access to a bandcamp-sized collection but which links the consumer to individual artist sites for purchase and download and streaming? Is that too inconvenient for consumers? It’s definitely a heavy lift for artists. Well, it’s pie-in-the-sky anyway - just a Utopian thought. Abbygregory: The banks take artists’ earnings everywhere. It’s factored into their take on Bandcamp, iTunes, etc. They would just have to factor it in for themselves.

[@Beatsbasteln]

exactly! finally someone else who actually gets it

[@SandcastleTheory]

Yes, but as one of those artists, I'd much rather you bought your music in a way that actually compensates the creators, and allows you to keep it and take it with you wherever you go, without needing a subscription or an Internet connection. See, a little initiative on both our parts, and everyone wins. ;) Cheers!

[@marcus268]

why not have label sites only? Want this music? Gl to this label, they hire the web devs, evryone is happy.

[@MichaelWashingtonAE]

​​@@marcus268Because we are not all (or even mostly) signed by labels. Some of us have started our own inde labels just to release our own album/albums and reap the benefits of our work. Do you not understand what labels have been doing to musicians in the U.S. since the early 1900's?!

[@T0RR13]

I know this is was meant to prepare us for any worse case scenarios, but it left me feeling really inspired for some reason.

[@beatjuggernauts]

If Texaco buys Bandcamp next, the access to fuel rewards points would truly be next level. I'm digging the "A Beautiful Mind" energy. Charge on good fellow!

[@paulgrooveside2803]

This is a really thoughtful and interesting commentary on what may happen and how to deal with it, thanks!

[@oystercatcher943]

As a similar age tech person I think your suggestion of email lists, while appearing primitive is very valuable. To widen it out people will always sell you the more complex brand spanking new solution that requires you to depend on something else. Then you are forever at risk of losing control. I fight similar battles every day

[@JamesonNathanJones]

I hear a lot that email doesn’t work anymore, but the fact that I get a near 50% open rate is kind of insane compared to any other platform. A 10% rate on a KZbin video is considered very good.

[@ChristopherStoppiello]

As someone with a friend who was just laid off from bandcamp , the “nothing has really changed” refrain is hitting my ear kind of funny. In the one sense, nothing has really changed because the platform was continuing as it had been. On the other hand… nothing changed for the good either. Epic stopped investing in enhancements to the platform and instead had bandcamp staff working on Fortnite and other game related things. Bandcamp has been on cruise control for a year and I suspect it will remain that way until parts start to break down or there’s nothing left in the tank.

[@sirvazo1633]

Doh! Now I’ve got to start downloading the hundreds of albums I’ve purchased over the years just in case bandcamp closes shop.

[@peterelfman]

I really appreciate the positivity of the message in this video.

[@captain_black_310]

Great philosophy. You're a lot further along in the journey than I am in some respects (though I've had music featured on top network TV shows etc.), but I am now in what I would call phase 2 of my journey - Making music I want to make, doing work that's adjacent to it (in my case, synth restoration & sales), and attempting to build a KZbin channel/website etc. to funnel relevant content into. Cheers, and thanks for the positive vibes.

[@PORRFNK]

Synth restoring channel, ok I am in! Care to share?

[@johnbeagley1195]

Its still working very well for me. No change and no need for feel anxious. The only thing I seem to notice is that Bandcamp Fridays are not that regular, but that was really only introduced to combat covid

[@donaldpriola1807]

The reason we can't have nice stuff: Corporations.

[@agerven]

And individuals smart enough to search out these possibilities from a money perspective only, and not even noticing us ants, doing the hard work for them.

[@povilasl5383]

wow this video is just a great talk. I love the quote at the end, they really are words you can live by - choose a thing that's worth doing and its going to be tough and tortorous, but it will be worth doing, because you chose it.

[@lukasgraesslin]

I didn't even know until now that Bandcamp was sold, seems like I'm really disconnected nowadays. The news worries me a bit, I really love Bandcamp both as an artist as well as a listener. Let's hope this turns out well somehow.

[@doctorauxiliary]

these insights are greatly appreciated, nathan. ❤

[@_R8x_]

I'm not terminally online, and I haven't heard anything about this bandcamp situation. I had to smile a little when you said people are panicking because, for me, basically nothing has changed on bandcamp. It all works like before. People need to chill a little and follow your very legit advice of diversifying. Don't rely on any platform solely.

[@i_never_asked_for_an_alias]

OKOK.. i am chilling.. allright.

[@Syntox]

Being apathetic about big picture things does not make you cool. I'd argue the opposite.

[@Tshiknn]

half the people at the company just got fired. being a conscious consumer does not make you "terminally online"

[@_R8x_]

@@Syntox Not apathetic, more like Stoic. You can't influence the decisions behind the scenes of Bandcamp, all you can do is making yourself less dependent. Don't waste your energy on things you can't control.

[@NeonShores]

It just happened, of course nothing has changed yet. But in the next months and years things could definitely change greatly.

[@noisetheorem]

I've seen so many platforms rise and fall that at this point, I just don't care. If I need to move, Ill move. Right now, I don't see the need to panic. Unless something actually starts to change, its not productive to do all this hand wringing and fretting.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

I agree. Especially you already have a plan in case one platform goes away.

[@crnkmnky]

_You_ may be used to it, but every day there's another shell-shocked creator losing access to years of work on their KZbin channel. We can never have enough reminders that these platforms do not belong to us, and we should be proactive not complacent.

[@jantodjassi1266]

Great video! Thanks for the infos✨

[@ExplorerAUDIO]

Great Video, and true words. Thanks.

[@jackskyy1337]

Thanks for the Realtalk

[@garygimmestad4272]

Well said. Plans B, C, D . . . are becoming more and more essential. KZbin (Google) is showing new (to me) cracks. Josh, the indispensable MusicTechHelpGuy, recently reported that KZbin was taking down links to his Logic Pro tutorial projects because they were inappropriate, which is bonkers. Response from KZbin has been mostly crickets and no resolution. So, he’s doing exactly what you’re suggesting - creating his own website to host those files. I have lots of opinions about late-stage capitalism, antitrust, and wealth distribution. But music focus groups on social media are such miserably poor platforms for those conversations. The Moog story very quickly became a cluster-fuck of ill-informed speculation and virulent cynicism. Which is to say that I really appreciate your constructive approach. Thank you.

[@resetreboot]

Very on point video. For someone that as a consumer has recently found Bandcamp and started using it as a way to get music that you won't find in the popular streams, it has been bad news too. I was skeptical already when Epic bought them (seriously, these guys? A videogame company? That isn't really much loved by gamers either). But whatever... there's this trend that has been doing the rounds the net these days. That we sacrificed independence for convenience, and let these companies own our content, our creations, our media, our Internet. But we never lost the chance to do it the old Internet ways.

[@partymarty6969]

Bandcamp sucked anyway. They keep 15% of your digital sales/PayHip keeps 5%. They have streaming on their platform but don't pay artist for those streams. If you tested out for yourself what Spotify pays per stream, you'd learn and earn a lot more doing your own research. As far as music discovery, bandcamp is search bar with tagging capabilities. Every competing platform has that, the internet is literally one giant search bar. KZbin has a search bar too, what makes bandcamp better? bandcampers are so culty 😂

[@crnkmnky]

Sacrificing independence for convenience. I see several responses here about how inconvenient it is to receive emails, or to seek out music from multiple decentralized storefronts. 🤦🏿‍♀️

[@crnkmnky]

@@partymarty6969 It's not about how "great" or unique Bandcamp (or _any_ platform) is. It's about how artists have become overly reliant upon it. Yet another de facto "internet utility" which is destined to collapse sooner or later. People have to remember this, and act accordingly.

[@partymarty6969]

@@crnkmnkyI get what you’re saying but there’s also a lot ppl saying that bandcamp is the best for a number of reasons, which is actually false (and I already explained why). I mean … just read the comments, there’s plenty of ppl using these words.

[@laszlozoltan5021]

message to the current bandcamp owners- dont try to fix what's not broken

[@SpoopySquid]

"But what about our shareholders?" - suits

[@planetplex]

Yup totally agree! We should all be doing these things anyway if we want to get our music out there.

[@GuildOfTheBlackCrow]

Almost thought you were playing 'On The Nature Of Daylight' in the background.

[@solarhead2040]

Plus when you upload a new track. Bandcamp don't put it on their main page. Even if you search the genre and narrow it down to your location. There's nothing there unless you have a massive following. So it's really hard for your music to be found unless you know the specific artist name. They should give more people the chance to be discovered.

[@WizardOfArc]

you can do air-quotes with your facial expression and voice tone 👏

[@AnymMusic]

We also gotta remember that being an artist isn't that different, if at all, from running your bog standard company. We ARE small business owners, with all the perks and cons that come with it. As much as I wanna throw up when saying this, I gotta learn social media marketing, just like any small business would. I gotta learn how to do email lists, just like any small business would. I gotta think about what value outside of me/my music I can add to entice people in, just like any small business would. And I gotta suck up the fact that this world (and mainly the biggest companies) is/are against you, just like any. small. business. would. You can make music purely for the artistic aspect of it, but then don't expect to make a living from it. That's how it is, has always been, and always will be. Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, all were in service of someone who were impressed by their skills, but that didn't mean they got to be the most insane artistic frontrunners of their time. They had to make and write the things that they thought those paying them would enjoy.

[@mikerawd]

I think Patreon is still alive and kickin it with the new features. I'm becoming an independent artist myself and considering this option

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Yeah I saw that they’ve made some upgrades. Worth checking into.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

@tristen_grant Admittedly I don't use them and haven't looked into it yet.

[@partymarty6969]

Have you tested what Spotify pays you per stream? If you upload music and test out what they pay per stream, you’ll learn and earn a lot more testing everything for yourself. Bandcamp doesn’t even pay artist for the streams they receive on their platform. and from my understanding, you need to pay $10/month for Bandcamp Pro to disable stream. That’s so messed up smh.

[@bosundborg5895]

I agree that having your own web and e-mail is a good basis. I also agree that performing live is important. With today's technology, we can easily live stream via KZbin or Zoom and also save the concert as content on your channel. Someone should start a channel with live club gigs. The technology exists just like the need to bring audiences back to the clubs. (No, I don't think people would stay at home then. On the contrary)

[@Rez0nance-t3g]

A sturdy vessel in the storm. Thank you!

[@DashGlitch]

Everyone talking about rip bandcamp but I don’t understand, my payments still come through daily and 1 track nets me more than my entire discography on Spotify lol

[@partymarty6969]

I mean, you’re already on KZbin. If anything was to go bad with Bandcamp you can always upload your music to PayHip and direct your fans there. PayHip only keeps 5% of your sales, whereas Bandcamp keeps 15% (transaction fees apply on both platforms). I do quite well on Spotify.

[@crnkmnky]

Hyperbole. But half the staff was locked out of their systems, and now they're fired. So, take precautions and don't get caught slippin'.

[@ZiggyOwlGG]

We didn't find anything to go to besides make our own website as a backup. But very good video and nice Seinfeld quote at the end.

[@dyce3008]

the only aspect of being a musician that I enjoy is making the music and performing. idk if I'm gonna enjoy the other parts I have to do to make a career of it, but I don't wanna do anything else so heaven help me

[@monsterofeastfelton]

I'm curious if some of this is to use our music to train AI models. I heard some licensing services are starting to add that to their agreements.

[@nickdestruct]

imo epic only cares about profit. that aside, When BC first came out it may have been a place for some people to discover new music. but from my perspective it was never as popular as acidplanet, soundcloud or even spotify or kazaa.. pretty sure i had more followers on myspace and soundcloud than bc. and barely sold any music, because everyone wants everything for free unless youre already a mainstream or clubbing musician/band/dj with some sort of merch.. ive learned producing music is relaxing and enjoyable, like self medicating, but trying to build an audience and make money is near impossible unless youre already playing clubs, in a big city, or have already worked in the industry decades before in some capacity like sound designer or engineer, etc. its a beeoch and depressing tbh. so ive just tried to reiterate to myself, my original principle when i first started making music. its a hobby, i do it for my own enjoyment, to make music i like to listen to and making a living at it isnt my priority.

[@Ezrecordings]

Being totally honest, from a label point of view, I wish more labels sold exclusively to BandCamp and Artcore. There are way too many sharks out there and most of them are Digital Distribution companies that are straight up robbing labels and artists!!! Im sick of distribution companies and their rip off charges. If its not over charging per release, its over charging for subscriptions. BandCamp & Artcore are 2 great avenues artists and labels can use to sell direct to their customers. Yes they take a small fee but your still cutting out the middle man! I feel its about time labels and artists took back their power and stopped feeding this greed machine! iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and all the rest are underselling music and the value of labels and artists.

[@Ezrecordings]

@@Bigblockdodge not really since they only give you a very small percent of the profits :( thats the trouble with all these platforms like iTune, spotify and amazon, they choose and decide how much your music is worth and in most cases undervaluing your worth! It takes artists, as a collective, to make a change in the industry. Its up to artists to take their power back. Granted these other platforms have an audience already but, again, because the music industry is so damn corrput, indi arists will always struggle to get noticed on such platforms. Getting air play is even harder. This is another SCAM going on online, people selling false opportunities to get your music played on radio or tv! I tend to sort out independent radio stations who I know play the type of music I release. The same also applies here on KZbin. The algorithm sucks! Everything is about money, you're expected to spend money to make money all the time... this is a game I dont want to play!

[@lockyp204]

The postage prices are criminal. Not to mention the inability to buy multiple items from one artist to be sent as one package.

[@prokopartworks]

Right of First Refusal laws would force companies to sell to the employees if they want to collectively run it as a co-op.

[@MuzixMaker]

Not on social media much, happily so. Sorry you’re affected.

[@SOULRODGERS]

wonderful video

[@GodsRockstarMusic]

I love that you still call it twitter 👏🏾👏🏾

[@RedHeaven]

A year later. Has anything changed, as you were worried things might?

[@TheMidnightBandit]

This video was too good. You probably know that. Thank you.

[@c.augustin]

I think that, if any artist does his own "thing", it get's harder for people to just buy the music. Every platform has its own account, and any shop would have that, too (or maybe not by using PayPal, but this one has its downsides). I have to admit that I find Bandcamp quite nice (more so than buying music on Apple iTunes or Amazon, or needing a Spotify account or whatnot).

[@JamesonNathanJones]

I understand what you mean, but today people follow people (the artists themselves) above all. If someone is a real fan, they will look for ways to support you. Just have to provide 1) something they love/enjoy, and 2) a way for them to support you.

[@JayM928]

True. Gone are the days of your music taste being defined primarily by what radio stations you listen to or what your circle of friends like. It’s decentralized to the point where I just follow people. But OP is right about the annoyance of having to go all over the place. Ironically, this is why I casually refuse to use Epic Games. I really don’t need Steam, Epic, whatever that EA store is, and the endless list of everyone trying to get in the action like Ubisoft, etc. I can tell you that there are some artists I just don’t follow because I don’t want to be on Facebook or instagram or twitter. That stuff all comes with too much baggage that I don’t need.

[@c.augustin]

@@JayM928 Yeah, definitely not Facebook and The-Platform-Formerly-Known-As-Twitter! Instagram I do use (for photography), but I would not use it for music (not well suited for that, and I nearly never look reels and have the sound permanently switched off).

[@partymarty6969]

Bandcamp sucks! They keep 15% of your digital sales/PayHip keeps 5%. They have streaming on their platform but don't pay artist for those streams. If you tested out for yourself what Spotify pays per stream, you'd learn and earn a lot more doing your own research. As far as music discovery, it's called a search bar. Every competing platform has one, the internet is literally one giant search bar. KZbin has a search bar too and ya’ll are here already lol! what makes bandcamp any better?

[@kuhliloach8842]

Thanks for this video. It shows us all how critical Bandcamp is as a concept, if not the site itself. The climate of streaming services has been so very awful to creativity and independent music. In the end we don't need centralized services to sell music and communicate with fans.

[@joyboricua3721]

@1:12 ...& k's on equipment with the time to learn to configure it. It's literaly a passion!

[@51bpm]

As an artist on bandcamp, I'm one of the biggest fans of the platform out there. I'm not so sure that the Songtradr acquisition is a deathknel at all. Seemingly, songtradr is more connected to the industry than either bsndcamp or epic games. I'm not sure that they bought it to kill it. Having said this, I'm now also beginning to use Patreon as a way to reach out and get paid.

[@robertsyrett1992]

Having your own storefront is a terrible reversion to the 2010s.

[@mufcmusic8514]

Thank you for this video, I was planning to do exactly this to stay independent and not have to allow others to earn off my hard work.

[@sibbyeskie]

I don't have any particular feelings on Bandcamp, but I got your newsletter email and it was like someone put a mirror to my face and I could suddenly see clearly "shit... I do that a lot. I should try to change that." That's the really hard part but appreciate you putting it in a way that made me see it.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

It just human nature. I have to remind myself as well.

[@TheJournalismBizCoach]

No need to re-opt in actually. You “own” the existing opt in, even if you change email platforms. Great vid!

[@mostlyindica]

Wave goodbye to Bandcamp fridays shortly.

[@Rustik1722]

This channel is amazing. The opposite of a “others”

[@N8oRMusic]

just learned about Bandcamp stealing user content to train AI. I searched youtube for any news on it and your video is the only Bandcamp related one that came up. Any chance of a video regarding this new development?

[@heyitshhousefly]

Peace my friend. Where did you learn about this?

[@pulvenberg1709]

I was perhaps kinda fortunate to have almost no attention on bandcamp, before this happened.

[@dj_timoy]

Self-hosting is a great solution for the artist, but not so much for the fan... I'm on both sides of the fence here, being someone who self-hosts as well as one who buys music on Bandcamp. I really enjoy the convenience of listening to music on the app and it's a great experience to travel from one artist to another, so I think "discoverability" is a huuuge factor here.. Especially, since I've noticed that most folks tend to prefer to just stay on the platforms they're on, it can be tedious to try and redirect attention toward our actual work. Perhaps, if we had some kind of "fediverse" option 🤔💭

[@hhaaasshh]

thanks! ps/for me one of the main problems of bandcamp is huge commissions and payments only through paypal

[@slinkywhite9255]

Man i really enjoy bandcamp tho its so unique compare to other music playforms why does it have to go i loved it

[@JornLavoll]

great video! but im a little distracted by the poly evolver(?) in the back :D DO you have a video featuring that?

[@JornLavoll]

nevermind, i found them :D now i just need to make some coffee and binge them all

[@waltersir7306]

One time at band camp

[@Mjgfvme]

You think maybe more people will really embrace the indie route with spotifys new rules?

[@watchaddicts1213]

Email??? This is good stuff!!! Email Mark seriously!

[@cryptout]

I really don't care about following individual artists (sorry), as a music lover I want to find good music and this is what Bandcamp does best. Nobody wants 100s of extra emails from individual artists. Anyways, lets hope Bandcamp does not die because I really see no alternative right now.

[@partymarty6969]

Bandcamp sucks! They keep 15% of your digital sales/PayHip keeps 5%. They have streaming on their platform but don't pay artist for those streams. If you tested out for yourself what Spotify pays per stream, you'd learn and earn a lot more doing your own research. As far as music discovery, it's called a search bar. Every competing platform has one, the internet is literally one giant search bar. KZbin has a search too, do you not see it? what makes bandcamp better?

[@ChaosBeforeOrder]

As a fellow music lover and aspiring full time producer, I can understand not wanting to follow individual artists, I'm the same way yet I want to make a living off music, its like I'm contradicting myself sometimes.

[@curtish76]

So what you're saying is that it's a good thing I didn't go for the job postings when it was owned by Epic.

[@cropcircle5693]

It's true that we have more control but don't misread that. The industry is way more chaotic, unskilled, trivial, less lucrative (it's fact not an opinion) with fewer straight lines to success. Yes you read all that correctly. Do not glad hand yourself into summing all this up as "having more control." Sure we have more control, because nobody gives a shit about what we do because nobody can actually find us among a sea of other "I guess I'm just here" artists all trying to figure out individually where to get herded off to next while never actually taking hold with an audience we can never really identify or connect with. The audience can't see the forest for the trees. Success by todays standards is a pale reflection of really anything from the 60's to 2000. Maybe the 40 years or so when everything seemed to actually work was an anomaly but I tend to think it was an indication of what TO do and not "what to avoid." There were a few powerful funnels within a structured system. Now everything is a funnel which means nothing is. And if there's a structure, it's new, insignificant, conservative, and obtuse. Essentially inaccessible to 80% of people who used to be able to participate, even if it was at the fringes.

[@agerven]

Sadly you have a very strong point. The major benefit of Bandcamp is (was?) that it is a well-known single access point for quality independent artists. If every artist has to do this on their own, and you have an individual and possibly different access point for each of them, they will be very hard to find.

[@heatherpruner2284]

I found your channel fairly recently, and I really appreciate the level-headed energy you bring to your videos. The things you present always come across as honest, well thought out, and balanced, and this is no exception. I am concerned and a bit bummed like many about this (on top of the Moog thing) but just going into an "I hate capitalism" rant (because who doesn't?) doesn't really offer solutions....so thank you for actually doing so! I also just remembered to follow you on Bandcamp because of this, haha! Can't wait to check out your music!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thank you Heather! Really appreciate that!

[@BottleneckMoses]

Hi there, I’m thinking of using Bandcamp. One year after posting this video, do you think the service has suffered or is it still going strong? Thanks!

[@crnkmnky]

If you are an artist or label on Bandcamp, backup your data and files!

[@modaroho]

punch in the gut how ? im still getting the same as before - I don't depend on streaming only o sales of tracks

[@PeterHollinghurst]

Something like Bandcamp really needs to be run by the musicians using it as some sort of collective whee they all have shares but nobody has enough to really control or sell it.

[@djangosoftwaredeveloper]

I can't find the Bandcamp app on Android???

[@nethercords]

i built my own website to subvert bandcamps blatant betrayal.

[@Pneumachines]

Dang, I just made an account with them 😢

[@Soxittome]

If I had the money I would make a Music page and Music app. If I knew who to go to. It takes a lot to be great at what you wanna do.

[@Jamesp1972]

some things should be protected from sale like historic buildings

[@quantumeseboy]

WhaAt?! It's the only place I buy music from! Maybe it's time now to shave beards, beards always lead to catastrophe.

[@jonathanparham]

Wow. yeah I heard this news yesterday and thanks for the quick video. Digital Marketers, including some you included in your Content video a while back have been advocating this for a while. We don't control the platforms but we can control how we communicate to our fans via email and superphone/chat

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Yep. I think there’s truth to what a lot of those people say, I just also think it’s easy to lose sight of why you start making “content” in the first place. You can use content to feature your art without allowing it to just use you to sell ads.

[@crnkmnky]

No matter how good Bandcamp has been for artists, it is just another platform which we don't control. It is given way too much responsibility for direct connection to fans. It already happened with CD Baby: they shifted to focus on Spotify distribution, and shut down hundreds of artists' storefronts. These layoffs are a reminder that Bandcamp could easily disappear, just like MySpace or Ⓜ️🅿️3️⃣ dotc0m. *P.S.* _Not having to intentionally misspell words like a dystopian imbecile is yet another benefit of communicating on platforms where inscrutable moderation bots aren't constantly deleting comments for no good reason._ 😒

[@macronencer]

Bandcamp has only ever been the best of a bad lot, anyway. It still doesn't support gapless playback. FFS, we had that in the 1970s on vinyl. Why does new tech always seem to lack basic features that are as old as the hills? I want an upgrade, not a crossgrade. I've been irritated by the gapless playback thing for quite a while now - it's a ubiquitous problem with modern music services. What are people supposed to do if they want to listen to a work of art that flows from one track to another, but they have to put up with little glitches all the time? It's OUTRAGEOUS. Why is this considered OK?

[@agerven]

Well, you could do what i did on my first CD, which is actually what the vinyl records also did: Make one long track of it. On CD it is even possible, when you go to a mastering facility, to create sub-labels and titles for each of the parts in that long track. Sadly most modern CD / DVD players do not display that information anymore. There is no other alternative for this since the official CD format (red book) requires a 2 second interval in between tracks ... For info: The CD name is "Hatching", recorded in 1992 by Ron Boots at his Dreamscapes studio, Stemra LC6479 CUE-1101 and the tracks are #1 and #5, each divided into 2 subtracks. If you contact Ron or any mastering facility, they can give you more information on this.

[@partymarty6969]

Bandcamp sucks! They keep 15% of your digital sales/PayHip keeps 5%. They have streaming on their platform but don't pay artist for those streams. If ppl tested out for themselves what Spotify pays per stream, they’d learn and earn a lot more doing their own research. As far as music discovery, it's called a search bar. Every competing platform has one, the internet is literally one giant search bar. KZbin has a search bar too and ya’ll are here already 😂

[@crnkmnky]

​@@agerven 👍 CUE files

[@macronencer]

@@agerven Many thanks for the details. I have authored a CD myself so I remember some of this stuff, although I thought the 2-second interval was optional, even in the official format, but maybe I got that wrong. If I play a CD like JMJ's Oxygene, there are no glitches between the parts, yet the track number counts up, so there is obviously some way to do it, whether that's by ignoring the standard or by using subtracks. I suspect the standard is flexible. There's another issue as well, which is that people will rip to formats like MP3 and end up adding silence because it rounds up to the next block of data. CD tracks are always multiples of 1/75 second, but that's something people only become aware of if, like me, they've authored CD tracks that are intended to loop when played as WAVs (I learned the hard way!) Lots os subtlety here, but I just wish all of this had been anticipated when new audio formats such as MP3 began to be used.

[@clayirwinmusic1962]

HOT NEW ROCK ON BANDCAMP BY CLAY IRWIN ] IT ROCKS

[@b25671]

How do I find, listen and buy misic these days that supports the artists? I genuinely don't know how I have to do that these days. I don't want to get a spotify account, because I think it wouldn't benefit the artists. Please help.

[@MrEMann]

Are they gone? Sold yes but gone? Damn, damn, damn!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

As I mentioned, nothing has changed yet except the ownership and layoffs. No way of knowing what their plans are for the future.

[@partymarty6969]

Bandcamp sucks! They keep 15% of your digital sales/PayHip keeps 5%. They have streaming on their platform but don't pay artist for those streams. If you tested out for yourself what Spotify pays per stream, you'd learn and earn a lot more doing your own research. As far as music discovery, it's called a search bar. Every competing platform has one, the internet is literally one giant search bar. KZbin has a search too, do you not see it? what makes bandcamp better?

[@jeedmodorn5494]

Well said.

[@hiphopheaven]

The future doesn't look good but saying it's dead is very exagerated

[@mudsh4rk]

There has never been a good online music platform. Play local shows, talk to real people, touch grass. It's the only way.

[@SartorialisticSavage65]

Discoverability is actually high not sure what you mean. You just have to be prone to doing it. Not to brag, but yeah, someone like me. And I don't only use BC, I also hit record stores and talk to collectors. Like I'm highly into Rock N Roll. Both new and old. It's a lifestyle. As far as BC: stuff like Neo Garage Rock/Garage Rock Revival/Punk/Surf/Rockabilly; I think you get the idea. I even ran a KZbin channel highlighting my discoveries for a while. In a way that it mattered. Stuff that most people weren't getting a hold of. People around the world (not many, but they exist) rely on my curation.

[@SartorialisticSavage65]

And with that being said, there are definitely people more successful than me in this haha. But I kinda like being elusive and I'm just making a point.

[@ArtificialDjDAGX]

oh my fucking god, that explains why it suddenly wants you to use the app and makes it difficult to download music directly to your device.

[@That__Guy]

Yeah. It is a reminder that diversity in your income streams is crucial to survival as an artist or content creator or basically self employed person of any kind. It’s annoying and exhausting but I guess it will always be the name of the game

[@endezeichengrimm]

Good thing I still have my CD collection. 🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

[@JalexWROK]

musicians returned exactly to the point from which they started. I write music simply because I have a need for it. And if people don't want to buy my shitty music, then that's okay. And these services don't owe anything to anyone. How can I start complaining now about why myspace died?

[@selvmortsydd]

No more Bandcamp? Back to piracy then...

[@watchaddicts1213]

And what about a cooperative? Well done. I have an idea. Maybe I’ll send it to you… You never know, maybe it could help.

[@edwardferry8247]

How Bandcamp was worth 1/4 billion last year but then is purchased by a company not even generating $50 million in sales is very perplexing.

[@KenTeel]

Selling recorded music in an era of free recorded music ? Bravo, that's like selling ice cubes to Eskimos.