Epic Games today announced its latest acquisition, Bandcamp, a music community and online record store that allows artists to make a fairer amount of money by selling streaming and download licenses for albums directly to fans. There doesn’t seem to be any indication of how much Epic Games paid for the marketplace, but the company has said that this is all part of a grander plan for a new creator marketplace ecosystem, one that would fit right into Epic’s vision for a fair and open internet. Fans have paid artists $890 million using Bandcamp, and $207 million in the last year, according to a blurb on the main site.
“Bandcamp’s mission is to help spread the healing power of music by building a community where artists thrive through the direct support of their fans,” said Ethan Diamond, CEO and co-founder of Bandcamp.
“In Epic, we’ve found a partner who believes as deeply as we do that the future of music, and art itself, depends on the creation of equitable and inclusive communities like the one our fans and artists have helped to build. We’re excited to work alongside the Epic team to accelerate the realization of our mission and pursue our shared goal of empowering more creators in a fair and open way.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Bandcamp team to Epic Games,” said Steve Allison, Vice President and General Manager, Store at Epic Games.
“Bandcamp has built an incredible community and business where up and coming artists can succeed thanks to the direct support of their fans, with one of the best revenue models and terms in music. This aligns closely with Epic’s approach to supporting creators across all media and enabling them to connect directly with their fans.”
Bandcamp is Joining Epic Games (Bandcamp)
- I’m excited to announce that Bandcamp is joining Epic Games, who you may know as the makers of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, and champions for a fair and open Internet.
- The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model (where artists net an average of 82% of every sale), you’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site.
- However, behind the scenes we’re working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.