Back by popular demand, Bandcamp has announced another no-fee holiday. The music streaming and download platform will waive all commission fees on May 1st for an event coinciding with International Worker’s Day.
The website’s first such promotion took place March 20th. According to a March 23rd update, they sold $4.3 million in music and merchandise. “That’s more than 15 times our normal Friday, and at the peak, fans were buying 11 items per second,” wrote Ethan Diamond, the company’s co-founder and CEO.
Bandcamp Basics
Founded in 2008 by Joe Holt, Shawn Grunberger, and Neal Tucker as well as Diamond himself, Bandcamp grew popular for the options it affords artists and labels. Users can set their own prices, offer fans the option to pay more, and sell merchandise, among other things.
As pointed out by 5 Magazine, they’re one of the few profitable download stores that share their financials with the public. In 2016, the company posted its numbers to dispel rumors that it may have been going under.
“We don’t yet know the long-term impact of COVID-19, but we know that we all need music—to uplift and inspire us, to heal us, and to give us hope,” reads Diamond’s post. “We’ll continue working to make Bandcamp the best place for fans and artists to come together and sustain each other in the challenging times ahead.”
