To help support artists during the 2020 pandemic, Bandcamp has begun waiving commissions for purchases made on the first Friday of each month. And then the next day of Bandcamp commission-free shopping
In total, the company says its 17 Bandcamp Fridays to date have paid out more than $70 million to artists and labels during the pandemic, with more than 800,000 customers participating since it began in March 2020. After the first Friday Bandcamp Monday in 2022, the next commission-free sales day list will take place on March 4th, April 1st, and May 6th. And in case there’s any doubt if it’s Bandcamp Friday or not, there’s even a who can quickly sort things out.
Bandcamp says that during its commission-free sales days, an average of 93% of revenue goes to musicians, with the remaining 7% being reserved for payment processors. Meanwhile, on a typical day, about 82% of sales are passed on to artists and labels, resulting in a 10-11% cut for Bandcamp (which is still significantly lower than the standard 30% tech giants like Apple and Google receive from their app stores).
Sadly, with no clear end in sight to the pandemic, it remains to be seen what happens with Bandcamp Fridays heading into summer and fall. And with COVID-19 infections now peaking in many parts of the world, no one knows how long these days of commission-free sales may have to continue before we can safely return to major in-person events.
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