Bandcamp have extended their fee-free Bandcamp Fridays to May 2021, which sees the platform waive their percentage cut for sales on the site for 24 hours. Like previous Bandcamp Fridays, this event will take place the first Friday of the month, which includes February 5, March 5, April 2 and May 7, but not January 1.
“Although vaccines are starting to roll out, it will likely be several months before live performance revenue starts to return,” Bandcamp said in a statement on their website. “So we’re going to continue doing Bandcamp Fridays in 2021, on February 5th, March 5th, April 2nd, and May 7th. As always, isitbandcampfriday.com has the details.”
These fee-free Fridays see artists and independent labels take in an average of 93 percent of earnings from the site after payment processor fees. A sale on Bandcamp outside of these events typically nets an artist and label an average of 82 percent of earnings.
Bandcamp began these fee-waivers on their websites in March of this year as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected many in the music and live events industries. Following the initial success of the first Bandcamp Friday, the website expanded the event to occur for the following three months and then the end of the year. The platform states that they have made over $40 million on behalf of labels and recording artists as a result of this initiative.
The platform is also expanding into live stream performances, which allows artists to hold ticketed events on their platform. This system will allow artists to take in 80 to 85 percent of ticket sales from this service.
Leave a Comment