Review of Bandcamp

This weeks blog is inspired by feedback from other students about the website Bandcamp.com.  Our discussion revolved around websites that offer self-publishing for books and music.  We were required to research and comment about the information researched about POD (print-on-demand) sites.  Our instructor gave us some very good examples of some of the top sites but we were also encouraged to find new POD’s.  Bandcamp was a site that I had previously researched about a year ago.  The discussion gave me the chance to find new information about the site.

According to the webpage, Bandcamp has been around for 5 years, has 1,229,157 paid transactions and has 16, 823,426 downloads to customers.  This site allows for artists and bands to sell their music and merchandise via Bandcamp.  There is no initial cost for signup to use the site.  The only money you give Bandcamp is if you sell any items at which time they will take 15% of your revenue for the sale.  The site does very well to offer information about their sales numbers but nothing very detailed as far as how much artists actually earn.  There are also some very nice artist reviews that really help to rep the site.  It’s hard to argue with endorsements by artists that have used the site for a while and seem to have success with generating revenue by using the site.

What sparked my interest in Bandcamp was a blogger that contacted my boss, Deborah Mannis-Gardner, and wanted to interview her about sample clearances and the music industry in general.  One of the questions he asked her was, “Do you believe sites like Bandcamp are the way to go for bands on a budget?  Also, do these indie bands that make use of samples from other unknown artists still need to get clearances for music?”  Deborah replied by saying, “Any way you can get your music heard is always the way for an artist to go.  If a sample can be recognized or has knowingly been used then it needs to be cleared.”

The thing that I like about Bandcamp the most is that it’s easily accessible to anyone looking to do their own distributing and promoting.  There is no initial sign up fee and the percentage they make from your revenue is not that much at 15%.  What I don’t like about Bandcamp is that it is somewhat under the radar.  Hopefully the addition of higher profile artists gets it much deserved recognition.  With major labels and even many of the indie labels you will get an advance to make records or for living expenses.  Bandcamp offers nothing like that but also never expects to see any money unless you make money, which is much different than labels, which expect an ROI (return on investment).  Overall, this is one of the best sites for do-it-yourself music distribution and promoting, making it the best kept new music site out there.

Personal quote from Deborah Mannis-Gardner

http://bandcamp.com/

http://bandcamp.com/pricing