Epic Games — the American video game and software development company known for their wildly popular title Fortnite and Unreal Engine — is acquiring internet music company Bandcamp.
In respective announcements made today, Epic Games wrote that Bandcamp "will play an important role in Epic's vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more," while Bandcamp confirmed that they "will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community," keeping core features intact.
"The products and services you depend on aren't going anywhere, we'll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model," Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond wrote. "You'll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site."
Championing the companies' shared beliefs in "a fair and open internet" and "a vision of building the most open, artist-friendly ecosystem in the world," Diamond added that "behind the scenes we're working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services."
In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on artists' livelihoods, Bandcamp first waived its revenue share on music sales for a 24-hour period in March of 2020. The company continued the monthly practice, colloquially known as "Bandcamp Friday," into 2021, and will continue with the waiver period on the first Friday of every month until at least May 2022.
The popularity of "Bandcamp Friday" can also be attributed to listeners looking for alternatives to larger streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. The latter platform has been pilloried in recent years by consumers and artists alike, who have called out and questioned its pitiful royalty rates, leadership, and purported immorality despite the company's aims to increase transparency.
Earlier this year, Neil Young threatened to pull his catalogue from Spotify, arguing that the streaming giant endorsed the spread and promotion of vaccine misinformation by continuing to host Joe Rogan and his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Spotify sided with Rogan, leading Young contemporaries like Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash to remove their own material from the service.
Those already critical of the music industry's corporate streaming structures are wary of Epic Games' latest acquisition. Damon Krukowski, co-founder of the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) and a former member of American alt-rockers Galaxie 500, noted on Twitter that Chinese multinational company Tencent Holdings Ltd., which owns a 40 percent stake in Epic, also holds minority stakes in Spotify as well as Warner and Universal, two of the three major record labels.
As for the company's blossoming editorial arm, Bandcamp Daily Editorial Director J. Edward Keyes shared with Twitter followers that "Bandcamp Daily is not going anywhere. Bandcamp Daily's editorial staff isn't going anywhere. Bandcamp Daily's writing staff isn't going anywhere. We're going to keep doing what we do, and we're looking forward to doing it."
In respective announcements made today, Epic Games wrote that Bandcamp "will play an important role in Epic's vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more," while Bandcamp confirmed that they "will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community," keeping core features intact.
"The products and services you depend on aren't going anywhere, we'll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model," Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond wrote. "You'll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site."
Championing the companies' shared beliefs in "a fair and open internet" and "a vision of building the most open, artist-friendly ecosystem in the world," Diamond added that "behind the scenes we're working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services."
In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on artists' livelihoods, Bandcamp first waived its revenue share on music sales for a 24-hour period in March of 2020. The company continued the monthly practice, colloquially known as "Bandcamp Friday," into 2021, and will continue with the waiver period on the first Friday of every month until at least May 2022.
The popularity of "Bandcamp Friday" can also be attributed to listeners looking for alternatives to larger streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. The latter platform has been pilloried in recent years by consumers and artists alike, who have called out and questioned its pitiful royalty rates, leadership, and purported immorality despite the company's aims to increase transparency.
Earlier this year, Neil Young threatened to pull his catalogue from Spotify, arguing that the streaming giant endorsed the spread and promotion of vaccine misinformation by continuing to host Joe Rogan and his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Spotify sided with Rogan, leading Young contemporaries like Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash to remove their own material from the service.
Those already critical of the music industry's corporate streaming structures are wary of Epic Games' latest acquisition. Damon Krukowski, co-founder of the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) and a former member of American alt-rockers Galaxie 500, noted on Twitter that Chinese multinational company Tencent Holdings Ltd., which owns a 40 percent stake in Epic, also holds minority stakes in Spotify as well as Warner and Universal, two of the three major record labels.
As for the company's blossoming editorial arm, Bandcamp Daily Editorial Director J. Edward Keyes shared with Twitter followers that "Bandcamp Daily is not going anywhere. Bandcamp Daily's editorial staff isn't going anywhere. Bandcamp Daily's writing staff isn't going anywhere. We're going to keep doing what we do, and we're looking forward to doing it."
