Bandcamp Alternatives: Time to jump ship?
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Bandcamp isn’t the only music distribution game in town. Here are some possible alternatives to consider in case things go south in the near future.
Bandcamp Alternatives
This is why we can’t have nice things. After a long and protracted couple of years, music licensing behemoth Songtradr is buying Bandcamp, the independent music distribution platform. Songtradr says that nothing will change, asserting that it will “continue to operate Bandcamp as a marketplace and music community with an artist-first revenue share.”
Bandcamp
In case you’re just emerging from a Cryosleep and don’t know what I’m talking about, Bandcamp is an online music distribution platform that allows artists to independently sell their music. They can do this digitally or via physical media. They can also sell merch like T-shirts from the site. Bandcamp takes a cut, of course, but the site is widely regarded as having fair and artist-friendly policies. Bandcamp Fridays, where the company waives its fees, are especially popular.
While it’s certainly possible that nothing will change and Bandcamp will continue as is, given how large companies usually destroy smaller ones when they buy them, in more likelihood things will change a lot. If you use Bandcamp—and thousands do, from small artists to the very big—you may want to have some alternatives in mind to jump to in case this ship goes down in spectacular, James Cameron fashion.
Here are five Bandcamp alternatives to consider.
Bandcamp Alternatives: FanCircles
If Bandcamp is an online independent record store, FanCircles is like your own personal fan club but in a custom app. Any brand can sign up but it works especially well for musicians, as you can engage directly with your fans there. Perks include video, audio, picture sharing and gated access to event tickets and merchandise.
FanCircles
You can create either a free or subscription-based app that your fans can download for iOS or Google. There’s also a web-based version. Current FanCircles artists include UB40, Culture Club, The Alarm and other, non-‘80s bands.
The catch? It’s expensive. Very expensive. Rates for artists start at $249. A month.
- FanCircles homepage
Bandcamp Alternatives: Artcore
Bandcamp offers music of all genres. If you’re looking for a Bandcamp alternative with a focus on underground dance music, give Artcore a look. Positioned somewhere between Bandcamp and Beatport, Artcore offers a variety of download and streaming options for DJs and dance music fans.
Artcore
Although merch is marked as “coming soon,” the site does offer services for both artists and labels, with full-length high-quality previews (something Beatport frustratingly doesn’t offer), streaming, metadata with BPM and key analysis and the ability to set your own prices.
Artcore also has a blog. It’s a simple thing but with so much new music coming out every day, expert recommendations can be helpful. Bandcamp does this extremely well. It would be a shame if the editorial side of Bandcamp were to get the axe in the handover.
- Artcore homepage
Bandcamp Alternatives: Patreon
Wait, isn’t Patreon the site where you beg for money? Not quite and if that’s your attitude you haven’t been paying attention. Patreon began as a way for fans to support creators of all kinds by paying them directly every month. Creators offer different access tiers, providing goods and services for different amounts of moolah.
Patreon
However, Patreon is also a solid place to sell digital downloads, including of course music but also video, images and other files like e-books. Patreon can’t help you if you have physical goods like T-shirts though. (For that, take a look below at Sellfy.)
If you already have a Patreon, consider making it into a digital store for your music. It can be a great way to offer exclusives such as remixes or unreleased demos that aren’t on other sites—and you’ll be in a great position to pivot to a full Patreon store should Bandcamp start pushing up daisies.
- Patreon homepage
Bandcamp Alternatives: Sellfy
Sellfy is an online shopping platform that lets you create your own store. Storefronts are hosted on Sellfy. You can also sell from your own website with an embedded buy now button.
Sellfy
Sellfy makes a good Bandcamp alternative if you have digital goods to sell, such as music, videos or e-books. It also offers sales of physical goods but only on a select few items. Basically, they will create merchandise like T-shirts and mugs based on your design and take care of the shipping.
Sellfy makes a fine store but it doesn’t have the cool cache that Bandcamp does. However, if you’re looking for an easy way to sell some downloads or custom-made merch, it’s worth a look-see.
- Sellfy homepage
Bandcamp Alternatives: Music Streaming Services
Generally, people think of Bandcamp as a store. However, it also offers a streaming service. Essentially, whatever you’ve bought, you can stream on the Bandcamp app. Since listeners are streaming anyway, why not go full-stream and post your music on a service like Spotify or Apple Music?
Apple Music
Getting your music onto a streamer is the tricky part and for that, you’ll need a middleman service like DistroKid or Tunecore. For a yearly fee, you can upload as much music as you want to a large number of streaming sites at the same time.
How you feel about streaming services, though, is another thing. With the extremely low royalty rates and Spotify’s ongoing shenanigans, it can feel kind of gross uploading to them. Should Bandcamp cease to exist as we know it, though, streamers may be the only game left in town.
Conclusion: One Size Doesn’t Fit All
In conclusion, there doesn’t seem to be one single best Bandcamp alternative. This is very much a one size doesn’t fit all situation. However, by leveraging a variety of sites and services (including your own, personal site, something I haven’t mentioned), it does seem possible to continue getting your music and merch out there to your listeners.
What Bandcamp alternatives do you recommend? Let us know in the comments.
More information
- Bandcamp: Bandcamp
- FanCircles: FanCircles
- Artcore: Artcore
- Patreon: Patreon
- Sellfy: Sellfy
- Apple Music: Apple
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14 responses to “Bandcamp Alternatives: Time to jump ship?”
So there really isn’t a Bandcamp alternative right now. That can of course change quickly if they axe it too much.
The most important thing missing from this list, and also the only one that isn’t an “alternative”, because it should be your primary platform: build your own website. Stop relying exclusively on these companies.
Bandcamp is a site full of “independent” artists, yet we are so dependent on these companies, and everyone panics when things change. I personally don’t understand this hype around companies like BC/twitter/etc. making big changes. It always seems like the majority of people stick with it once the hype dies down.
Stop getting blown in the wind of these companies, and build your own website. Literally every artist and label that I’m into on BC has their own platform outside of BC. A few that I follow started shifting focus well before the epic/songtrader stuff, because it’s already well-known that lol diversity is our strength.
You should be on all of the platforms, not just the one you think is best. You should never find yourself in a pickle where you’re trying to find an “alternative” and you’re not sure if you can keep in contact with your fans/community. Unfortunately, these days, that tends to boil down to, “You can always find me at my Twitter page!” which is fine, but you should work towards something deeper.
Build a website. Make real contacts and connections. Whenever I receive a CD from a label/artist, I send a thank you card, and I put their address in my address book. If BC goes down, I go to their website. If their website goes down, I go to an alternative. If the internet goes down, I send a letter. Bandcamp shifts focus and becomes a pharma company called “Bandage Camp”? No problem.
I agree, but a service like Bandcamp is more than just a store these days. I sell everything thru my own site aswell but almost 90% of all sales goes thru Bandcamp anyway. People like to showcase their collections (that also generates sales for me) and to have streaming as a bonus kind of keeps them there, so while I agree with you it’s not that simple task 🙂
Thanks for the reply 👍👍
I get what you’re saying, and I don’t disagree. Bandcamp is my favorite platform for buying and listening to music, and I would be upset if anything bad happened. I just don’t understand why anyone is worryied that something bad might happen. Nothing has happened that is an immediate red flag. Most companies that go through these types of changes don’t implode out of nowhere. Everything is usually fine, and people keep going the same as before.
MySpace is the only time I recall that users truly got screwed over. But even MS was already being abandoned by its users at no fault of the company itself. Everybody moved to FB and TWTR because they were just way more popular. MS was already irrelevant before they deleted everyone’s music.
But also, even if things aren’t fine in the future, BC isn’t music. I enjoy BC, but I don’t need BC. I’ve got my library downloaded (I should make a back-up lol), and I’d happily buy from my favorite artists on their website or a different platform. Many artists who sell on their own site also offer free BC codes with a purchase from their site.
But also, I’m not saying that people should only have a website and that’s it. BC is awesome for artists and fans alike. But if you’re an artist who genuinely worries about the volatility of whatever platform, then I think you should build a website, build a raport with your community (fans, customers, whatever you want to call people), and put your music on every platform you can.
P.S. I’m surprised more people don’t link their website in their comments here. I always check for that hyperlinked name 👀👀
what about SoundCloud
You left out possibly the most significant addition to independent music publishing in a long time.. NINA Protocol – https://www.ninaprotocol.com/
Blockchain, just so everyone knows.
You forgot Amuse as a distro platform. They can distribute your music for free on multiple streaming platforms.
I am an older guy and I grew up with vinyl & cassettes & cd’s and in this new era, with Spotify etc., the artists get paid peanuts. That is why I refuse to use Spotify & I chose Bandcamp, as at least they get $ from bandcamp… I hope this new company stays like bandcamp, but seeing they already laid off 50 workers, I am getting a little nervous! Keeping fingers crossed they keep it the same…
I genuinely don’t understand what there is to be nervous about until we see some actual changes.
Many companies, small and large, have changed hands and/or had massive layoffs in the past and present, yet META is still FB (lol), TWTR is still X (lol), AMZN is still AMZN, MSFT is still MSFT, and on and on. I get that they’ve made changes, but they are all essentially the same companies. And even when they make changes that affect buyers and sellers alike, most people continue to use their products anyway.
I’m not saying people *should* continue to use their products. But even though I don’t use FB or insta, and I’m not exactly a proud AMZN customer, they’re all essentially the same product they’ve always been, and most people will be happy to use them.
Might I suggest Resonate Co-Op? It’s still in development but its greatest strength is that as a cooperative is that it isn’t owned by any single party that can sell it to others.
Has anyone used Fancircles? I can’t find any reviews of it from a quick Google search. $250 is a lot of money… per month!!! I’d like to know if anyone is getting any traction on it before even thinking of a high-ticket promo tool.
Is it too much to ask to have *stability*?
Do we have to Balkanize *everything*?
Bandcamp is as close to perfect as we’ll likely ever get. Let’s keep supporting them and play footsie with these non-alternatives and make your own website? Really? This isn’t 2000 when you wanted to start your own blog. All those different websites will fracture and enrage music fans everywhere. Then *another* “Bandcamp” will emerge. That’s just a recipe for a dumb, pointless, chaotic mess.
Stick with Bandcamp, demand improvements when warranted, and enjoy the music.
I sort of agree with you.
I agree that people should stick with bandcamp. But I don’t think we need to demand anything, and I don’t think it’s volatile or unstable. Nothing volatile or unstable has happened to the site itself (the company was sold, and people were laid off, but that’s not a crazy unprecedented thing for tech companies–and the site is still the same), and I don’t prefer your word choice of “demand” haha. We can be civilized and make fair requests when needed. Bandcamp doesn’t owe us anything. We are not entitled to receive anything from any of these companies.
That’s why I think every artist on bandcamp should have their own website, or at least build some sort of network outside of bandcamp.
That could be as simple as having a newsletter outside of bandcamp, although I do think a website is important. It’s not “just in case bandcamp goes down”. If you want to build a genuine community and connect directly with your fanbase, or if you simply don’t want an internet platform to take a portion of your earnings forever, then a website is essential. You can stay on bandcamp. It’s not one or another.
No, it’s not like 2000. It’s like 2023, and building a website is easier than ever lol I sound like an ad. Oh, and it’s 2024 so it’s even easier than ever ever!
If you really think there is a “dumb, chaotic mess” to avoid, then having your own website is the way to avoid it. Personally, I disagree that there has ever been any precedent of a chaotic mess to be worried about. Bandcamp will most likely be fine, and not because users demand this or that. It will be fine because there is no evidence that it won’t be fine. If that changes, or if someone can explain how bandcamp layoffs/selling is different from the many other tech layoffs/selling over the years, then I’ll change my mind (I really mean that. I’m not on my high horse, even though I type a lot lol).
Yes, BC is as close to perfect as we’ll ever get, and it hasn’t changed in the past few months, and the company says they will keep it the same. I see nothing to worry about, so far.
And I’m not sure if another bandcamp will emerge. BC seems to be the first of its kind. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve never seen a site like it. There are streaming sites, there are/were posting sites like SoundCloud and MySpace, and there are random distribution sites that someone out there uses. And I think people can easily put things on itunes? But BC is almost shocking in its simplicity, ease of use, and directness. Artists release, fans purchase, and repeat. You can sell your dirty socks on BC, as long as there’s a download attached. SC/MS is the only time I’ve seen a new version emerge to replace the original as the most popular platform. All the streaming sites are kind of in equal territory, without much volatility. I don’t know what’s up with Pandora, but spotify/yt/itunes seem to be co-existing fine. MySpace is the only time I’ve seen a major networking site be completely usurped by another site(s). Please let me know if there are other examples, but MS -> FB & SC was a matter of popularity. Users switched platforms, not because of chaos and volatility, and not because MS imploded, but because they liked other sites better.