A2IM Associate Member Spotlight: Bandcamp
Ticketed Live Streaming Comes to Bandcamp
Today we’re announcing Bandcamp Live, a new ticketed live streaming service that makes it easy for artists to perform for and connect with their fans, and for fans to directly support the artists they love.
Bandcamp Live is simple to set up, even if you’ve never streamed before, and is fully integrated with the rest of Bandcamp. This has several benefits: we automatically notify your fans when you announce a show, it’s easy to buy a ticket since so many people already have a Bandcamp account and saved credit card, and new buyers become your followers (and have the option to join your mailing list). You can also showcase your music and merchandise right alongside your stream in a virtual merch table.
Bandcamp Live also features optional chat where your fans can discuss the show, and you (or your chosen moderators) can engage with your community. Purchases from the merch table appear in chat, driving more sales.
Finally, pricing is completely transparent. We don’t pretend our ticketing service is free and then surprise your fans with a “convenience fee” when they check out. You set your ticket price to whatever you want, and that’s what your fans are charged. Our fee is 10%, and we’re waiving it entirely until March 31st, 2021.
When the pandemic eliminated a major source of musicians’ income, we immediately began working on ways to help the artists and labels on Bandcamp, without whom we would not exist. We started with Bandcamp Fridays, a day each month where we waive our revenue share, and so far those have raised $35 million in just 8 days (that’s in addition to the $126 million fans have paid artists via Bandcamp since the pandemic began). Bandcamp Live is the next step in our effort to help our community thrive during this crazy time. Streaming will never replace the experience of in-person performances, but we believe it’s the next best thing, and will provide artists with a powerful tool to build and connect with their fans both now, and when Covid is behind us and we’re all out enjoying the magic of live music once again.
We’ve started rolling out Bandcamp Live today, and will be bringing it to more artists in the coming months. If you’re interested in streaming live on Bandcamp, step right this way.