As COVID-19 inched toward its peak at the start of festival season, the subsequent mass cancellations have affected the finances of many artists and the teams around them. To do their part in giving back to the community, Bandcamp has announced that on March 20, they will give up their 10-15% stake in revenue share on all sales made from 12am PST – 11:59pm PST the next day.
Of the decision, Bandcamp’s CEO Ethan Diamond expressed, “With such a major revenue stream drying up almost entirely, finding ways to continue supporting artists in the coming months is now an urgent priority for anyone who cares about music and the artists who create it…For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not.”
As of writing, no other DSPs like YouTube Music, Spotify, or Apple Music have advised of similar plans to assist artists on their platforms. Read Bandcamp’s full statement here.