Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an online record store and music community where fans discover artists and support them directly. Artists can create customizable stores to sell digital music and physical merchandise, or set monthly and annual subscriptions with offers such as new releases, catalog items, subscriber-only music or merchandise, and community access. Free fan accounts include playlists, a wishlist, artist follows, a music feed, a customizable collection page, and high-quality downloads of purchases. The free iOS and Android apps let fans stream purchased music, build queues and playlists, and listen offline. Bandcamp charges 15% on digital items and 10% on physical goods. The digital fee drops to 10% after $5,000 in sales if the artist maintains at least $5,000 in sales over the preceding 12 months. Pro for Artists costs $10 per month and includes Shopify inventory sync, batch uploads, private streams, and uploads up to 2 GB per track. Playlists are in beta, require a fan account, and limit sampling of unowned tracks according to artist settings.
Who it is for
Bandcamp suits artists and labels selling music or merchandise directly, including those who want to offer subscriptions. Fans can use it to discover artists, collect purchases, and listen through mobile apps.
What is good
- Free fan accounts include playlists and high-quality purchase downloads.
- Mobile apps support offline listening to purchases.
- Artists can offer monthly or annual subscriptions.
- Pro includes Shopify inventory sync.
What to know first
- Digital sales have a 15% fee until the stated threshold conditions are met.
- Playlists are in beta and require a fan account.
- Unowned-track sampling is limited by artist settings.
Verdict
Bandcamp combines direct-to-fan sales with tools for listeners to follow artists and manage purchases. Artists should account for sales fees, while listeners should note the beta playlist limits.
Bandcamp plans and pricing
All plansCompared on digital product selling platforms
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $10/mo
- Transaction fee
- 15 %
- Maximum file size
- 2 GB
- Custom domain
- Yes
- Recurring payments
- Yes
- Sales tax tools
- Yes
- API access
- Yes
