Happy Bandcamp Wednesday. Fortnite-maker Epic Games is treating itself to an entire Bandcamp. The music download site announced the acquisition in a blog post today, adding that it will continue to function as a standalone entity with co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond at its helm.
“We share a vision of building the most open, artist-friendly ecosystem in the world, and together we’ll be able to create even more opportunities for artists to be compensated fairly for their work,” Diamond wrote in the post.
The relatively business-as-usual approach includes the continued operation of Bandcamp’s marketplace, community and editorial product, The Daily, as standalone entities. The company says it will also continue to operate Bandcamp Fridays as planned. The monthly event, which removes the service’s cut from purchases, has been a wildly popular features as many musician have struggled to make ends meet amid touring shutdowns.
Bandcamp is joining Epic Games! Read more here: https://t.co/dvLEhURZYG pic.twitter.com/4t1MRvugmG
— bandcamp (@Bandcamp) March 2, 2022
“Since our founding in 2008, we’ve been motivated by the pursuit of our mission, which is to help spread the healing power of music by building a community where artists thrive through the direct support of their fans, the CEO adds. “That simple idea has worked well, with payments to artists and labels closing in on $1 billion USD.”
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It’s a strange acquisition from a thematic perspective, for sure. But Epic has been on something of an acquisition tear in recent years, with a ton of funding in its coffers, thanks largely to Fortnite’s wild popularity. The pandemic, meanwhile, has forced many musicians to reassess their relationship with their work and the platforms they use to put it out into the world. Bandcamp has positioned itself as a far more musician-friendly service versus behemoths like Spotify, adding things like streaming concerts to its list of offerings.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Bandcamp team to Epic Games,” Epic VP Steve Allison said in a separate post. “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.”
