What Is Bandcamp Friday and How Does It Work?

In March 2020, Bandcamp launched Bandcamp Friday to support musicians. But what is Bandcamp Friday and how does it work?

The COVID-19 pandemic reignited the debate about how musicians get paid. Traditionally, record labels were the gatekeepers, offering small advances to most artists but keeping the release's revenue to themselves. In more recent times, streaming services like Spotify have offered insignificant sums for high volumes of streams.

While we're used to seeing the mega-stars of this world revel in their luxurious lifestyles, that's not the reality for many musicians. With live music wholly closed off due to lockdowns, most were left with no income and little support.

Fortunately, Bandcamp took the opportunity to support artists around the world with Bandcamp Friday.

Why Do Musicians Need Support?

Although the music business is notoriously challenging, with many bands, singers, and musicians struggling to make a living, broadly, most have learned how to manage their business to make it sustainable. In the pre-internet days, musicians would earn income from two significant sources; record sales and concerts. In recent years, the market has shifted away from physical releases.

Instead, steaming and, to a lesser extent, digital stores have replaced CD sales. Consumers now have a more comprehensive range of artists available to them, so the money that may have previously been focused on just a handful of performers is now split between many. Streaming services are notorious for how little they pay artists per stream. As a result, income from recordings has become negligible for many musicians.

In place of sales, artists have learned to generate income from live concerts, exclusive events, and merchandise sold at shows. Although every sector has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, creative industries, which relied on in-person events and interactions, saw their income almost disappear overnight as restrictions were placed on countries worldwide to limit the spread of the virus.

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While many governments have put together some form of support package for their citizens, these are primarily aimed at those in regular or traditional employment. Musicians fall outside of that criteria. As a result, and through no fault of their own, they have mostly been without income or financial support.

What Is Bandcamp Friday?

In March 2020, as a response to the severe economic pressures, Bandcamp, an online music store primarily for independent musicians, announced that it would not take its sales percentage through the site for 24 hours. All sales made during that time would go directly to the artists.

This event was initially billed as a one-off. However, across that single day, users spent $4.3 million on music and merchandise. According to the company, that figure was 15 times the amount of a regular Friday.

Following this success, Bandcamp initiated Bandcamp Friday, a monthly 24-hour event where all proceeds would go directly to the musicians to support them through the pandemic. There was even a new website, Is It Bandcamp Friday?, to countdown to the next event so users worldwide could get involved.

After the first few Bandcamp Fridays, the artists themselves started to promote the day, with some launching exclusive releases or offering discounts and deals for the duration. Although Bandcamp has always fostered a good relationship with artists, these 24-hour periods boosted the company's standing among creatives and fans.

How Do Musicians Make Money?

Before the internet, there were limited opportunities for musicians to release their music. The considerable expense of recording a full-length album and the mammoth task of manufacturing and distributing a physical product globally often made releasing an album on your own uneconomical. Consequently, fledgling artists would sign contracts with record labels. In return for a monetary advance, the label would own the resulting audio recordings.

In most cases, the contracts didn't allow the artists to share in the album's release's revenue or proceeds. As a result, artists were indebted to large businesses for their income. The situation began to change, however, with the advent of the internet. The now-infamous battle between Napster and the heavy metal band Metallica in 2000 turned digital music platforms into mainstream options.

At the time, most similar services only offered illegal access to digital music. After the Metallica vs. Napster legal proceedings closed, many businesses realized the benefits of digital music and the MP3. Around the same time, Apple released the first iPod, igniting the demand for virtual music stores where you could purchase individual tracks rather than complete albums.

Despite the lower cost, and therefore higher-margin, of digital music, most artists are still locked into legacy contracts with the revenue going to the label rather than the musicians. As the internet has become readily available globally, and speeds have increased to broadband levels, streaming is a viable option. Instead of purchasing music and only listening to your collection, you can pay a monthly fee for access to an almost unlimited amount of music with only a few taps.

Sadly, this increased access to music didn't come with many benefits for the musicians themselves. While it has never been easier and cheaper to record and release music, in some cases, entirely independently, streaming services offer minuscule payments per stream.

For example, for a single stream on Spotify, you could earn between $0.003 and $0.005. Unless you already have an audience, you'll struggle to make ends meet at those rates. Fortunately, Spotify isn't the only way to distribute your music online.

Similarly, artists who don't self-release, opting for record label backing instead, may find themselves splitting those small amounts of revenue with their label. To fill the gap, most musicians turned to live music and merchandise sales. Despite most tours' complexities, many bands and musicians found they could gain exposure through streaming platforms and turn those listeners into fans who would attend concerts and buy t-shirts.

The Future of Bandcamp Friday

As the pandemic continued to impact life throughout 2020, the company scheduled Bandcamp Friday events through to the end of the year. With an ever-changing situation, it wasn't immediately clear whether this would continue. For its part, Bandcamp is also subject to similar financial pressures, and so has lost out on potential revenue to support artists.

It's unclear whether the company can sustain this in the longterm. However, in December 2020, Bandcamp announced that Bandcamp Friday would continue until at least May 2021. In conjunction, it also launched Bandcamp Live, a ticketed virtual live event platform.

For as long as the pandemic impacts live music, your favorite artists will be in a turbulent financial situation. Bandcamp Friday not only offers a chance for you to support the musicians you love but also means you can take advantage of Bandcamp's library streaming feature. Either on the web or using the Bandcamp mobile app, you can stream your purchased music.

Similarly, Bandcamp offers artists the option to enable Patreon-style subscriptions. Many have taken advantage of the recurring income to provide subscribers with exclusive behind the scenes updates, early access to music, and countless other perks.

These tangential services also help Bandcamp remain profitable. This is an essential part of Bandcamp Friday, as the company can't offer this level of assistance if it is also in a dire financial situation.

Support The Artists You Love

It's no secret that the pandemic has been hard for a significant number of people. Many businesses have struggled to stay afloat, and countless thousands have sadly lost their jobs. Times are tough, and most creatives understand the situation their fans are in.

However, while some industries have been able to make a transition to remote environments, without a change to the payments streaming services make to artists and the reintroduction of live events, your favorite acts may be forced to leave music behind for good.

Bandcamp Friday is an excellent way to support musicians. Not only that, but you get high-quality music in return for your investment. That said, Bandcamp isn't the only place you can buy high-quality digital music online.

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