Bandcamp waived its share of the revenue earned from song and album sales last Friday.
In these uncertain times, it is good to know there are people in the world who are passionate about helping musicians get ahead. Touring right now is impossible, and streams are declining, but last Friday, album sales for indie artists were up in a big way thanks to Bandcamp.
As previously reported, Bandcamp waived its share of any revenue generated through its platform last Friday, March 20. The one-day promotion was part of a global effort to support independent musicians struggling to pay bills in light of Covid-19. Artists and labels alike promoted the initiative, as did several high-profile publications, and fans, thankfully, came out to show their support.
The numbers tell a remarkable story: on a typical Friday, fans buy about 47,000 items on Bandcamp, but this past Friday, fans bought nearly 800,000, or $4.3 million worth of music and merch. That’s more than 15 times the service’s Friday, and at the peak, fans were buying 11 items per second.
A post announcing the sales figure on the Bandcamp blog made it clear the platform is far from over supporting its artists. It reads:
“We don’t yet know the long-term impact of Covid-19, but we know that we all need music—to uplift and inspire us, to heal us, and to give us hope. We’ll continue working to make Bandcamp the best place for fans and artists to come together and sustain each other in the challenging times ahead. Thank you again, and we wish you all good health!”
It’s hard to emphasize the importance of buying music and merch from artists during this difficult time enough. As we mentioned in our Music Biz video series, streaming numbers are down across the industry, which means artists are seeing less revenue from consumption that unusual. Supporting musicians through the purchase of music and merchandise is the best way to help artists pay their bills and continue creating music.
