5 causes to purchase music from Bandcamp

When you’ve ever heard in regards to the ethical issues with music streaming and need to do one thing about it, one nice solution to get away from it’s by shopping for music straight from artists. One platform that is nice for doing that’s Bandcamp, the place artists can straight promote their music and merchandise. As an alternative of getting paid a fraction of a cent per stream, you possibly can truly help your favourite artists extra straight.

So for those who’re unsure about Bandcamp and all the advantages from utilizing it, listed here are a number of the predominant the explanation why you would possibly need to purchase music from artists on Bandcamp and forego your traditional streaming habits.

1 You personal the music you purchase and it might’t be taken away from you

No DRM software program to be discovered right here

While you purchase music on Bandcamp, be it a digital copy, a CD, vinyl, or a cassette, you get to maintain that music in whichever format you buy it in. On the flip aspect, once you take heed to music on a streaming service, since you’re paying a subscription charge and do not truly personal the music, it may be taken away every time on the will of the distributor.

As such, all downloads from Bandcamp are freed from DRM (digital rights administration) software program. So you possibly can’t be restricted from utilizing the music at a later date on the will of any copyright holders. As soon as you have downloaded that music, you possibly can’t have it taken away from you.

Moreover, once you purchase digital downloads on Bandcamp, you possibly can re-download the music you bought indefinitely. That is in distinction to different platforms that will solely allow you to take heed to bought media on their platform, like how Apple solely permits you to obtain music you beforehand bought on iTunes to 10 gadgets.

2 You’ll be able to help artists extra straight

Whereas streaming companies pay a fraction of a cent per stream, shopping for music will get cash into artists’ palms

Whereas streaming companies pay artists cents, and even fractions of a cent, per stream, once you purchase music on Bandcamp, you are supporting the artist extra straight by giving them cash instantly for purchasing their tracks or albums. Bandcamp itself takes 10% of the earnings from bodily media buy and 15% from digital purchases, with the remaining going to artists.

On occasion Bandcamp can have a “Bandcamp friday” occasion the place artists get 100% of the earnings from gross sales. That is an excellent higher alternative to help your favourite artists, since you possibly can make sure that each cent you spend goes straight to them.

3 You will get top quality lossless tracks

Spotify will not allow you to obtain FLACs, however Bandcamp will

Lots of the time once you purchase digital tracks from an artist on Bandcamp, they’re going to be CD-quality, which is 16-bit/44.1kHz lossless high quality. That is customary lossless high quality, and is considerably higher high quality than the best high quality you possibly can at the moment get on Spotify.

Lossless mainly implies that the unique sound of the recording is retained, and despite the fact that lossless music continues to be compressed to a level, it isn’t compressed to the diploma of the typical MP3 file, and the compression is completed in a method that also retains the unique high quality of the music. So by shopping for lossless music from artists by means of Bandcamp, you will be certain you are listening to every part you need to be listening to, as long as you are listening with wired headphones or audio system, at the least.

4 You should purchase music from smaller artists that are not on streaming companies

Anybody can promote their music on Bandcamp, making it nice for native acts

To get music on a streaming service, there are plenty of steps to be taken, and it is actually tough for small unbiased artists to get on streaming companies. However Bandcamp permits bands to easily add their music to the positioning with out leaping by means of all of the hoops one must on a streaming service like Spotify.

So for those who’re extra fascinated with exploring native or small bands that may’t handle to get on a streaming service, Bandcamp is a good way to do this. When you go to a neighborhood present and see a cool band you actually like, there’s an awesome probability they’re already on Bandcamp, so you possibly can help them straight there.

5 Some artists use a pay-what-you-can mannequin

You’ll be able to pay much less if you do not have a lot to spend, or pay extra if you wish to

Mick Haupt / Unsplash

Bandcamp has the choice for artists to promote their music below a pay-what-you-can mannequin, which is nice for individuals who need to help artists however do not essentially have a lot cash to take action. Most individuals who do that are smaller artists, you are unlikely to discover a greater artist below a label that does this, but it surely’s a pleasant solution to present help on your favourite native artists even when you possibly can’t totally afford to below regular circumstances.