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Bandcamp has been my go-to place for music every since they launched. My musician friends like it as a distribution platform. I like it as a place to discover m

by elric 4y ago

Bandcamp has been my go-to place for music every since they launched. My musician friends like it as a distribution platform. I like it as a place to discover music. I love it as a place to buy (and own) music.

the_only_law 4y ago
Bandcamp is great, but it’s odd to see all these sites suggested as alternatives to Spotify. Bandcamp is a marketplace for musicians to host their music, merch, etc. so that people directly support them. There’s a wide range of mainstream to tiny bands started by someone last month. It’s an awesome place to fine new music, awesome place to buy it, as you get your pick of formats, etc. the app/site offer streaming features, but it’s primarily a marketplace. But I wouldn’t never consider it an alternative to Spotify. Spotify is a music streaming platform. It’s designed for curating and streaming, and for a bit had a decent recommendation engine. Bandcamp could never replace Spotify for me because only a fraction of my playlists are albums/songs available on Bandcamp.
- capableweb 4y ago
  It's true that the lack of catalog in Bandcamp is a huge negative compared to Spotify, but that's a bit of a chicken and egg problem as well. Artists go where music consumers go, and music consumers go where artists go. Spotify got around this problem in the beginning by basically streaming pirated material, while Bandcamp would never go that way. Other than that (breadth of catalog), Bandcamp can do most things Spotify does, while making things more sustainable for the artists. I generally download FLACs directly from Bandcamp, but sometimes I use the streaming app on iOS if I buy something like on mobile network. Works as well as Spotify.
  - elric 4y ago
    > It's true that the lack of catalog in Bandcamp is a huge negative compared to Spotify That depends on what you're looking for in music. If you're a passive listener who just wants to listen to something familiar, sure, Spotify's probably got you covered. But if you're a music enthusiast who's looking for new things, Spotify is severely lacking. Many things simply aren't on Spotify (yet), and even if they are, Spotify seems to make it hard to find new things.
- seba_dos1 4y ago
  > because only a fraction of my playlists are albums/songs available on Bandcamp Doesn't the same apply to Spotify? A huge chunk of my local FLAC collection isn't available there.

by elric 4y ago

the_only_law 4y ago

Bandcamp is great, but it’s odd to see all these sites suggested as alternatives to Spotify. Bandcamp is a marketplace for musicians to host their music, merch, etc. so that people directly support them. There’s a wide range of mainstream to tiny bands started by someone last month. It’s an awesome place to fine new music, awesome place to buy it, as you get your pick of formats, etc. the app/site offer streaming features, but it’s primarily a marketplace. But I wouldn’t never consider it an alternative to Spotify. Spotify is a music streaming platform. It’s designed for curating and streaming, and for a bit had a decent recommendation engine. Bandcamp could never replace Spotify for me because only a fraction of my playlists are albums/songs available on Bandcamp.

capableweb 4y ago
It's true that the lack of catalog in Bandcamp is a huge negative compared to Spotify, but that's a bit of a chicken and egg problem as well. Artists go where music consumers go, and music consumers go where artists go. Spotify got around this problem in the beginning by basically streaming pirated material, while Bandcamp would never go that way. Other than that (breadth of catalog), Bandcamp can do most things Spotify does, while making things more sustainable for the artists. I generally download FLACs directly from Bandcamp, but sometimes I use the streaming app on iOS if I buy something like on mobile network. Works as well as Spotify.
- elric 4y ago
  > It's true that the lack of catalog in Bandcamp is a huge negative compared to Spotify That depends on what you're looking for in music. If you're a passive listener who just wants to listen to something familiar, sure, Spotify's probably got you covered. But if you're a music enthusiast who's looking for new things, Spotify is severely lacking. Many things simply aren't on Spotify (yet), and even if they are, Spotify seems to make it hard to find new things.
seba_dos1 4y ago
> because only a fraction of my playlists are albums/songs available on Bandcamp Doesn't the same apply to Spotify? A huge chunk of my local FLAC collection isn't available there.