Bandcamp is waiving their fees to give bands all sale proceeds
Bands are being massively affected by the economic pressures of being forced to stop touring in the midst of the coronavirus but Bandcamp is helping out by waiving their cut of sales starting this Friday (March 20).
The company announced the move today (March 18) in conjunction with a number of labels who will similarly be giving all proceeds to artists.
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Some of the record labels participating include Deathwish Inc., Run For Cover, Sargent House and Father/Daughter Records.
Co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond is offering a statement on the move which you can read below.
“To raise even more awareness around the pandemic’s impact on musicians everywhere, we’re waiving our revenue share on sales this Friday, March 20th (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much needed money directly into artists’ pockets.”
It continues: “For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not. Still, we consider this just a starting point. Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come, so we’re also sharing some ideas below on how fans can support the artists they love and how artists can give fans new, creative ways to provide support.”
You can learn more here.
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
Sleep On It took to social media earlier today relaying the message to fans that they were putting their song “Burning At Both Ends” on Bandcamp as pay what you want as it’s the only master they own. Other artists including La Dispute, Neck Deep, Between You & Me, Elder Brother and more have also posted about how Bandcamp is a massive way to help bands financially right now.
“Burning at Both Ends” is the only master we own, so we’ve put it on our @Bandcamp for “pay what you want”. This is the best way to directly support us at the moment.
??: https://t.co/uubY8DBNJ2 pic.twitter.com/UoxmvNETiK— Sleep On It (@SleepOnItBand) March 18, 2020
Replaced fixed pricing on our @bandcamp and @itchio pages with the option to donate. Records + PILGRIMAGE, PDFs of games/books, rarities: all up for pay-what-you-can. Take a peek, take what you want, give what you’re able. All goes to keep our ship and ships afloat.
— La Dispute (@ladisputeband) March 17, 2020
A mutually beneficial way to support artists you love is via Bandcamp. For smaller, independent artists, it goes straight into their PayPal (streaming royalties take a minute) AND you get to own a super high quality WAV or FLAC file.
— Neck Deep (@NeckDeepUK) March 16, 2020
A lot of artists also offer the option of “pay what you want” for songs and albums
— Neck Deep (@NeckDeepUK) March 16, 2020
The ND boys are on it here!
If you’d like to support BYAM, the only way you can do so directly is by grabbing our EP from Bandcamp. We don’t make any money from our other music.
Anything you can contribute would be greatly appreciated! ❤️https://t.co/bZnYViXNtF https://t.co/Wuuj94H59w
— Between You & Me (@BYAMAUS) March 16, 2020
In terms of non-physical stuff, we do have this cover of a Black Sabbath song we released a few years ago on Bandcamp that I guess you could name your own price for. Otherwise digital downloads go to our label and not us directly. https://t.co/jaN0tnqN1K https://t.co/W3MhikMiLJ
— Elder Brother (@elderbrother_) March 14, 2020
Read More: Recording Academy and MusiCares reveal COVID-19 relief fund
The music industry is banding together in these dark times in a number of ways. Yesterday, the Recording Academy and MusiCares also revealed they were starting a COVID-19 relief fund for people working in the industry. The fund is seeing both organizations donating $1 million each to their Relief Fund to help industry workers impacted by the economic losses during the pandemic.
Further, all Recording Academy Chapters are committing to fundraising in local communities. They’ll also be hosting virtual concerts to crowdfund.
You can learn more about the fund here.
If you’re looking for more ways to help out bands and your local music scene, check out these ten ways you can help out in these difficult times.
What do you thin of Bandcamp’s initiative in helping musicians with their income in the midst of the pandemic? Let us know in the comments below.