Bandcamp brings in $4.3 million for artists during coronavirus campaign
On Friday, Bandcamp gave a massive helping hand to struggling musicians facing economic pressures in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus by waiving their distributor fees and now we’re seeing the results.
The organization ended up bringing in a total of $4.3 million for bands over the course of the day with 800,000 sales taking place.
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The organization gave an update on the sales figures brought in last Friday with a statement thanking everyone who participated.
Co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond announced last week the company would be scrapping their cut of sales for 24 hours in hopes of helping out some of the DIY musicians struggling to bring in money from the complete shut down of concerts and other events.
To support musicians during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bandcamp is waiving our revenue share on all sales this Friday, March 20, from midnight to midnight PST.
Read more here: https://t.co/hPhgm7WBR4 pic.twitter.com/HDyjdvBQet
— bandcamp (@Bandcamp) March 17, 2020
“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 our normal Friday, and at the peak, fans were buying 11 items per second,” the statement begins.
“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!”
Last Friday, fans spent $4.3 million—15x a normal day of sales—in support of artists on Bandcamp https://t.co/ElpCIN3s4f
— bandcamp (@Bandcamp) March 23, 2020
Bands of course are going to continue needing people’s help in these difficult times. If you’re looking for ways to help out, check out these ten ways to help the music industry right now.
What do you think about the amount of money Bandcamp helped bring to musicians through their sale day? Let us know in the comments below.
