3 ms·

Bandcamp Fridays gave (and presently, still give) 100% of Bandcamp's cut to the artists. Any "replacement" platform that doesn't have it will mean the artists g

by caslon 3y ago

Bandcamp Fridays gave (and presently, still give) 100% of Bandcamp's cut to the artists. Any "replacement" platform that doesn't have it will mean the artists get less money, which gets in the way of the music. As somebody who obviously didn't pay attention to any artist on the platform, of course anything beyond a quick, one-click, Amazon-style storefront will be "getting in the way of the music," for you. There's already a solution for that, though: Go shop on Amazon, if you don't care about what percentage of the profits the artist gets. They have the patented "Buy now with 1-Click®" experience, and it'll likely be faster for you to purchase using it. Personally, I want a world where people can afford to make music for a living, and Bandcamp was great at doing everything it could to try and make that happen for as many people as possible.

dijksterhuis 3y ago
You’ve focused in on the Bandcamp Friday thing. When I read the original parent it was everything else that I was like “meh, Bandcamp would be perfectly fine without any of that” Bandcamp Fridays just got lumped into the quote tbh. I’m tired. It’s Thursday. Terraform was kicking me in the head today. Although I can never remember which bloody Friday is Bandcamp Friday so I think I’ve managed to do like one of them. Bandcamp was going for like 10 years before the Fridays existed. If they needed to go to keep the store online, I’d be fine with that (not that I think that’s necessary). Oh and I used to work for a performing royalties organisation… so… yeah… I kind of do care about how much artists get paid for their work. Yeah it would be great if making a living off music was feasible for more people. But the magic is in the fact that’s it’s not. There’s magic in the sacrifice. Edit — this part of your reply was annoying me. > As somebody who obviously didn't pay attention to any artist on the platform, of course anything beyond a quick, one-click, Amazon-style storefront will be "getting in the way of the music," for you. For me… the connection to the artist happens through the music that I buy from them. So you know what. Yeah, I would buy off amazon. Or boomkat. Or bleep. Or redeye. Or phonica. Or honest johns. Or SOTU. Or juno. I’m an absolute record store whore. I have no allegiances. Because buying the actual music is the important bit I believe. Why? Because no one buys music anymore. That’s why artists have to tour so much — to make that living you spoke about. Because no one buys anything these days. Well… I do. But I’m weird. I couldn’t care less about instagram posts or posting photos of people hanging out in the studio tho. That stuff is pure bobbins as far as I’m concerned.
- caslon 3y ago
  > I’m an absolute record store whore. I can't deny that. > Because buying the actual music is the important bit I believe. Congratulations on abstractly purchasing music without caring how much of it actually ends up in an artist's pocket and feeling proud of it! Vinyl is 15-20% for the artist on a good day, and usually worse after vendor markups. MP3s on most platforms are at least a 15+2.5% haircut for the artist. > That’s why artists have to tour so much — to make that living you spoke about. Because no one buys anything these days. > But the magic is in the fact that’s it’s not. There’s magic in the sacrifice. Saying that you didn't care about workers getting paid was weird, but equating "making music" inherently with a vow of poverty is kind of beyond the pale. You're a (presumably) well-compensated person working on something far less useful to society than music, "the cloud." Plenty of countries have programs to compensate their artists fairly (like countries that force a percentage of radio play to be in their native language, or by local artists), and these countries don't have "less magic" because of it. I don't even blame pirates, but this weird middle ground of being willing to spend money but not caring if a good deal of it goes to corporate middlemen so you can have the abstract, hipster, "At least I buy things!" experience is so bizarre.
- heleninboodler 3y ago
  > Although I can never remember which bloody Friday is Bandcamp Friday so I think I’ve managed to do like one of them. Bookmark this silly site: https://isitbandcampfriday.com/ https://isitbandcampfriday.com/
  - dijksterhuis 3y ago
    Oh I have. And I always forget anyway. I buy physical copies. Is good enough for me.
MichaelZuo 3y ago
> Any "replacement" platform that doesn't have it will mean the artists get less money, which gets in the way of the music. This doesn't sound right, there are 8 billion people in this world, a large chunk of them potential 'artists' with sufficient motivation, and not everyone is motivated by money.

by caslon 3y ago

dijksterhuis 3y ago

You’ve focused in on the Bandcamp Friday thing. When I read the original parent it was everything else that I was like “meh, Bandcamp would be perfectly fine without any of that” Bandcamp Fridays just got lumped into the quote tbh. I’m tired. It’s Thursday. Terraform was kicking me in the head today. Although I can never remember which bloody Friday is Bandcamp Friday so I think I’ve managed to do like one of them. Bandcamp was going for like 10 years before the Fridays existed. If they needed to go to keep the store online, I’d be fine with that (not that I think that’s necessary). Oh and I used to work for a performing royalties organisation… so… yeah… I kind of do care about how much artists get paid for their work. Yeah it would be great if making a living off music was feasible for more people. But the magic is in the fact that’s it’s not. There’s magic in the sacrifice. Edit — this part of your reply was annoying me. > As somebody who obviously didn't pay attention to any artist on the platform, of course anything beyond a quick, one-click, Amazon-style storefront will be "getting in the way of the music," for you. For me… the connection to the artist happens through the music that I buy from them. So you know what. Yeah, I would buy off amazon. Or boomkat. Or bleep. Or redeye. Or phonica. Or honest johns. Or SOTU. Or juno. I’m an absolute record store whore. I have no allegiances. Because buying the actual music is the important bit I believe. Why? Because no one buys music anymore. That’s why artists have to tour so much — to make that living you spoke about. Because no one buys anything these days. Well… I do. But I’m weird. I couldn’t care less about instagram posts or posting photos of people hanging out in the studio tho. That stuff is pure bobbins as far as I’m concerned.

caslon 3y ago
> I’m an absolute record store whore. I can't deny that. > Because buying the actual music is the important bit I believe. Congratulations on abstractly purchasing music without caring how much of it actually ends up in an artist's pocket and feeling proud of it! Vinyl is 15-20% for the artist on a good day, and usually worse after vendor markups. MP3s on most platforms are at least a 15+2.5% haircut for the artist. > That’s why artists have to tour so much — to make that living you spoke about. Because no one buys anything these days. > But the magic is in the fact that’s it’s not. There’s magic in the sacrifice. Saying that you didn't care about workers getting paid was weird, but equating "making music" inherently with a vow of poverty is kind of beyond the pale. You're a (presumably) well-compensated person working on something far less useful to society than music, "the cloud." Plenty of countries have programs to compensate their artists fairly (like countries that force a percentage of radio play to be in their native language, or by local artists), and these countries don't have "less magic" because of it. I don't even blame pirates, but this weird middle ground of being willing to spend money but not caring if a good deal of it goes to corporate middlemen so you can have the abstract, hipster, "At least I buy things!" experience is so bizarre.
heleninboodler 3y ago
> Although I can never remember which bloody Friday is Bandcamp Friday so I think I’ve managed to do like one of them. Bookmark this silly site: https://isitbandcampfriday.com/ https://isitbandcampfriday.com/
- dijksterhuis 3y ago
  Oh I have. And I always forget anyway. I buy physical copies. Is good enough for me.

MichaelZuo 3y ago

> Any "replacement" platform that doesn't have it will mean the artists get less money, which gets in the way of the music. This doesn't sound right, there are 8 billion people in this world, a large chunk of them potential 'artists' with sufficient motivation, and not everyone is motivated by money.