The Reader has 56 places to start your shopping this Bandcamp dayLeor Galilon August 6, 2020 at 12:15 am 2024 Events Concerts Things To Do

Last week, Music Ally published an interview with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek where he suggested that artists upset with paltry streaming royalties should produce more music. “Some artists that used to do well in the past may not do well in this future landscape,” Ek said. “Where you can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough.” I can’t speak to why people decide to pursue careers in music, but I’m pretty sure it’s not so they can have a boss who devises a business model so broken that the only way they can hope to survive is by doubling or tripling the amount of work they release.

Bandcamp can’t match Spotify’s reach–it has just a tiny fraction of the streaming giant’s user base–but because it sells music outright, each of its users represents the potential for a lot more artist income. Ever since COVID-19 disemboweled the live-music industry in March, shutting down touring revenue, Bandcamp has periodically waived its cut of sales so that all proceeds go directly to artists and labels. Friday, August 7, will be the fifth such “Bandcamp day.”

An extra 10 or 15 percent from Bandcamp certainly won’t replace musicians’ lost income, but anecdotal evidence at least suggests that Bandcamp days incentivize enough buying binges to make a difference. On June’s Bandcamp day, Chicago polymath Nnamdi released the EP Black Plight, which made more than $10,000 in 24 hours (he donated the proceeds to charitable causes). On the four previous Bandcamp days–in March, May, June, and July–artists and labels made more than $20 million total, many times more than they would have on ordinary Fridays.

I’ve once again rounded up all the Reader’s recent recommendations of albums and EPs available through Bandcamp. Each one is linked to the Reader story that mentions it. I hope this gets you started searching through the bounty of great material on Bandcamp–happy hunting, and I’ll see you again for next month’s list!

Another Sunny Day, London Weekend

Vince Ash, Vito

Julianna Barwick, Healing Is a Miracle

Bloodmist, Phos

Boris, No

Peter Brotzmann & Fred Lonberg-Holm, Memories of a Tunicate

Bruges, A Thread of Light

Cinder Well, No Summer

Cold Beaches, Drifter

Chris Crack, Cute Boys (The Rise of Lil Delicious)

Cutta, Physicalism

Dehd, Flower of Devotion