If the founders of Bandcamp were hoping that 2023 was going to be their year of stability, their hopes were finally dashed altogether a few months ago – the company had new owners sizing up the curtains once more. Yes, with Epic Games having bought Bandcamp in 2022 – for reasons that nobody, least of all Epic Games themselves, appear to understand – they changed hands again to licensing company Songtradr a few months ago.
Since then, around half of the company’s staff have been given the sack, and the new owners have so far refused to acknowledge official union Bandcamp United – but we’ll have more about that in a few days’ time. However, the average customer using the website has continued to get the same online experience as before – the clunky, early 2000s internet type that painfully shows how dated it is now.
But one thing that no one seems quite sure what to do with Bandcamp Friday. This tradition of the company foregoing its cut of sales on the first Friday of each month began in the early days of Covid-19 – and has mysteriously continued since, despite pandemic restrictions now being almost entirely a thing of the past. Indeed, Ears To The House first reported in 2021 that the company was thinking of making Bandcamp Friday permanent.
Epic Games did absolutely nothing with the tradition – much like everything else during their brief period of owning the company. But less well-known is what Songtradr were going to do – are they planning on finally making a decision as to whether Bandcamp Friday is a part of their future or not? An email sent out to Bandcamp’s customers on Friday reveals their current thinking.
In short, they haven’t decided yet – but whilst they mull it over, they’ve committed that the next one will take place on February 2nd. They also pledge that “we’ll share plans for the rest of the year soon”…
Back in October, a source told us that “Bandcamp Friday has become part of the site’s fabric by now. It drives up sales on the day, but it also drives up sales the rest of the time too. How much business sense there would be from ditching it now is a difficult question. Songtradr will probably take their time on this.”.
They certainly weren’t wrong…
