Bandcamp Fridays return on 4 February

Launched at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bandcamp Fridays has seen the company waive its revenue share of sales generated on the first Friday of every month to assist adversely impacted artists weather the storm.

This year’s campaign will start on 4 February followed by 4 March, 1 April and 6 May.

“On the first Friday of the month since March of 2020, we’ve waived our revenue share to help support the many artists who have seen their livelihoods disrupted by the pandemic,” Bandcamp said. “Over the course of 17 days, fans paid artists and labels more than $70m, helping cover rents, mortgages, groceries, medications and much more. If you’re among the nearly 800 000 fans who participated, thank you.”

The platform also shared statistics comparing the percentage of money that goes directly to artists or labels when music is purchased on Bandcamp Fridays as opposed to other days: “On Bandcamp Fridays, an average of 93% of your money reaches the artist/label after payment processor fees. When you make a purchase on any other day of the month, as 2.5 million of you have since March buying an additional $190m worth of music and merch, an average of 82% reaches the artist/label.”

The initiative’s return could continue to benefit adversely impacted artists, as live performances are not expected to come into full swing for some months.

Bandcamp has extended the campaign a number of times since it was launched. The last Bandcamp Friday took place on 3 December after the company announced in August that it would continue the initiative until the end of 2021.

As of August 2020, about 50% of Bandcamp’s turnover came from physical sales. In November that year, the platform launched Bandcamp Live, a ticketed live-streaming service for artists that is integrated with the Bandcamp website.