How Bandcamp Can Help You Support Small Artists Right Now

TLDR: It’s time to show up for your favorite artists. 

Written by Annie Lyons
Photo by Casey Tang

Houston R&B singer Eimaral Sol.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of what seems like every live music event in a series of business and government decisions designed to maximize safety by minimizing crowds. While these cancellations have been necessary for public health, they also pose a huge financial burden for small artists who rely on festivals, gigs, and tours for a major source of income.

The cancellation of bigger festivals, like South by Southwest, means thousands of dollars lost for some artists. SXSW also has a reputation for discovering previously unknown artists and providing them with key exposure and publicity — superstars like Billie Eilish and HAIM gained significant traction with their early festival appearances. 

These losses mean that during these next few months, smaller musicians — artists not yet on the charts or receiving mainstream radio play, artists independently releasing their music, artists you haven’t even heard of yet — need support more than ever. Usually, fans can support artists by simply showing up for them at their shows and buying their merch. While the former isn’t a possibility for the foreseeable future, there’s still ways to help the artists you love from the comfort of your home. 

Everyone can help create word-of-mouth by sharing your quarantine playlists and music by your favorite artists on social media. (Do it! Post that song on your Instagram story! Right now!) But while sharing and streaming are both great ways to uplift musicians, streaming services have notoriously low payout rates — we’re talking less than a penny. Streaming giant Spotify, which has a payment model skewed against small artists in favor of big names, pays on average a little over over $0.003 per stream. To put that into context, you’d have to listen to a three minute song for nearly 14 straight days (6,667 streams) just for your favorite artist to be able to buy the 2019 film “Cats” for $19.99. That’s minuscule when you consider bigger bills, like rent. 

All this to say, if you’re fortunate enough to have funds to spare for the next few months, there’s no better way to show up for small artists than buying music and merch as directly as possible.

This Friday, March 20, the online music marketplace Bandcamp will be waiving its revenue share on sales to support artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For smaller artists who might not have their own website yet, Bandcamp is a solid choice with 80-85% of sales going to the artist after Bandcamp’s share and payment processing fees; Bandcamp usually takes a 10% cut for physical merch sales and 15% for digital music. Artists set their own prices and receive payment within 24 to 48 hours. But for 24 hours (midnight to midnight Pacific Standard Time), these fees will be waived, and artists can expect to reap the benefits within the normal payout time frame. Read Bandcamp's full statement on this Friday’s sale here. 

Here are some tips and ideas to make the most out of Bandcamp on Friday and beyond. 

Give a Gift

Have a friend who’s bummed out about missing their vacation? A cousin who had to cancel their birthday plans? Just want to brighten someone’s day? Bandcamp lets you buy both music and merch as gifts. Digital tracks and albums come in the form of emailed download links (no Bandcamp account needed), so you can send a thoughtful gift that’ll arrive instantly, all while practicing safe social distancing. 

Trade Music with a Friend (Or Crush) 

Get interactive while social distancing by doing a music swap with a friend … or crush. Gift each other a new album or take advantage of Bandcamp’s option to buy individual tracks and craft playlists for each other. Don’t have a quarantine crush? Take a page out of Afterglow writer Emma Tanner’s book and make the playlist you want someone to give you for yourself. 

Leave a Tip

Bandcamp lets you pay what you want, as long as it meets the minimum price set by the artist. This means you can essentially tip — for instance, paying $15 for a $10 album. This Friday, consider paying a little extra as a thank-you for providing the soundtrack for your time at home. 

Send Words of Affirmation

For every purchase, you can choose to write a short message to the artist while checking out. Some encouraging words of affirmation can provide some much needed kindness during these stressful and overwhelming times, no matter your love language. Take a moment to write a nice note letting an artist know that you’re here, you’re listening, and their art matters. 

Queue Up Something New

With hundreds of thousands of artists spanning every genre imaginable, there’s something waiting to be found for even the most seasoned music buff. Find something new by checking out Bandcamp’s personalized recommendations and lurking on the profiles of fans who have reviewed your favorite artists’ albums. Or, get out of your genre comfort zone and do a deep dive browsing through the site. For more discoveries, stay tuned for Afterglow’s upcoming list of current Bandcamp faves.