This isn’t an industry with a lot of good guys in it. Call us cynical if you like, but the truth is there are a lot of people in music who are out for what they, and they alone, can get. And the pandemic helped highlight many of them.
It also highlighted some of the good guys in the mix – Bandcamp being one. Early in the pandemic, they announced they would be foregoing their cut pretty much entirely on what were to be known as Bandcamp Friday. Tellingly, the likes of Traxsource, Beatport, iTunes and the rest did not follow the same path – make of this what you will…
Back in May last year, this site reported discussions were ongoing within the company on the possibility of Bandcamp Fridays becoming a permanent part of their fixture. And over the last weekend, emails were sent out confirming dates for the rest of the year – September 2nd, October 7th, November 4th and December 2nd.
So has Bandcamp come to a decision on this subject? Apparently not. Sources close to the company have told Ears To The House that the discussion within the business seems to “be a bit on and off” on the topic, with one saying “It costs Bandcamp money to do it, but brings in more traffic outside the day too – it’s a difficult one, and Epic’s takeover recently has only made it more complicated. No one really knows what they think of it.”.
Sadly, Bandcamp have not replied to our emails on the subject before publication – so the question, for now, remains open…