Bandcamp has announced that Bandcamp Friday is this week, on April 5th, 2024, and will continue in May, June, and from September to the end of the year. The brand was sold by Epic Games to Songtradr last year, the future of the otherwise helpful campaign is uncertain.
We are happy to announce that Bandcamp Fridays will continue in 2024.
Bandcamp Fridays began in March of 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when the shuttering of venues led to a loss of vital tour revenue for artists. Bandcamp Fridays—on which we waive our revenue share and pass the funds directly to artists & labels—has resulted in millions of fans paying over $120 million directly to labels and musicians they love.
Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photograph-of-vinyl-records-on-a-shelf-6862352/
“In addition to helping artists pay the rent, or fund album recordings and tours, Bandcamp Fridays have also became a beacon for artists and record labels looking to raise awareness for causes or raise money for charities. Noise For Now raised money for voter’s rights and abortion access. “Bandcamp provided us with the ideal platform to maximize our fundraising impact,” says Amellia Bauer, Noise For Now’s Executive Director. “Released for 24 hours only on a Bandcamp Friday in 2022, the benefit compilation Good Music To Ensure Safe Abortion Access For All was able to raise $231,000—all without platform fees. We are grateful to Bandcamp for being the most artist-friendly platform around,”
And so we’re happy to announce five more Bandcamp Fridays in 2024. The next Bandcamp Friday is April 5, 2024, followed by our 40th Bandcamp Friday on May 3. After that, Bandcamp Fridays will continue on September 6, October 4, and December 6.”
To help you get the most out of Bandcamp Friday, we’ve put together this list of tips:
* Post your music in the days before Bandcamp Friday, so that you don’t get lost in the shuffle. Your music will already be featured in our search and discovery tools, and the viral nature of our fan community will be in effect.
* On Bandcamp Fridays, fans are on the lookout for special items like limited colorway vinyl, signed merch, warehouse finds, and one-off releases including demo tracks and between-album singles.
* Try using the “Name Your Price” feature on Bandcamp Fridays, when fans are feeling even more generous than usual. You might also consider doing a flash sale, or discounting your catalog for the day to attract new fans for your next new release.
* Ask your fans on social media to follow you on Bandcamp, so that when you announce special releases, they’re automatically updated and will be first to know.
Bandcamp was sold by Epic Games to Songtradr last week, and staff has unionized in 2023, but have met with resistance.
On the first Friday of the month since March of 2020, we’ve waived our revenue share to help support artists on Bandcamp. Since then, more than a million fans have paid artists and labels over $100 million USD (if you’re one of them, thank you).
The next Bandcamp Friday is on April 5th. As always, isitbandcampfriday.com has the details.
If you’ve started to feel guilty about buying music on any other day of the month, here’s something to keep in mind: on Bandcamp Fridays, an average of 93% of your money reaches the artist/label (after payment processor fees). When you make a purchase on any other day (as millions of you have, with more than $1 billion now paid directly to artists), an average of 82% reaches the artist/label. Every day is a good day to support artists on Bandcamp!
If you can’t make a purchase, you can always support bands by sharing this post and asking bands to post their links!
https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-fridays-update