Eight reasons to buy product from your favourite artist on Bandcamp this Friday

For many of those lucky enough to be in employment, this week sees their monthly salary arrive in their bank account at the end of what has been a traumatic month for a lot of communities around the world. The arts sector has been hit more than many, with quarantine cancellations of events across the globe and the closing of most shops, with little immediate prospect of improvement.

Most bands in the goth/post-punk/darkwave genre use the Bandcamp platform as one of their main online means of presenting their product to potential listeners, offering a free trial stream of all new releases (or selected tracks thereof) along with the sale of digital downloads, physical copies (CD, vinyl and cassette) as well as bands merchandise (primarily t-shirts).

Here’s eight reasons why should we all consider making a purchase this Friday:

1)      This Friday (1st May) for one day only, Bandcamp is waiving fees on all sales

Usually, as with any intermediary service (record shops/Amazon etc), bands have to give the middleman a cut of all sales, but for one day only Bandcamp is waiving its right to its fee. The last time it did so six weeks ago, bands sold 4.3 million dollars worth of product in the 24 hour period. This is your chance to make sure that all of the money from your purchase goes direct to the band.

2)      Repay your favourite bands for quarantine gigs

Many bands have put on free livestreams of gigs or rehearsals, or contributed to online events like the Gothicat Online Festivals. You’d normally pay decent money to see a band (if you’re lucky enough for them to come to a town near you), so rather than freeloading at these online treats why not repay their generosity with the purchase of an album or t-shirt from their Bandcamp store.

3)      Make up for loss of merch table sales

With live gigs around the world grinding to a halt and scientists suggesting that this will be one of the final activities to return to normal when the global lockdown eases, many bands have lost their main opportunity to sell directly to fans. Bands at this level staff their own merch tables, and most people who have enjoyed a gig will often make a purchase literally directly from the band after the show. Did you enjoy the recent Sonsombre or Kaelan Mikla livestreams for example? If so, do the decent thing if you can afford to and buy something from their Bandcamp store.

4)      Music is good for your soul

New music is good for you, it lifts your spirits and activates your brain. Lots of bands have released new albums in the past two months, from Then Comes Silence to The Black Capes, from This Eternal Decay to Byronic Sex and Exile. Why not treat yourself to something new and cheer yourself up! You deserve it!

5)      Replenish your wardrobe

Most clothing retailers are closed in many countries during the lockdown, so why not refresh your wardrobe and boost your street cred with a new band t-shirt to impress your friends for that next Zoom/Houseparty meet-up.

6)      You might be now able to afford it

If you’re working from home, you may be saving cash on commuting, lunch, coffees, that quick drink after work, and your usual entertainment budget is going unspent as you self-isolate at home. Why not use some of the spare cash to support your favourite band and buy that album you’ve been wanting to get for a while, or an earlier release from a band that you’ve got into recently?

7)      If you don’t make a purchase, your favourite band/label might not be around much longer

Bands and labels will both be feeling the pinch with their normal income streams drying up. Unknown Pleasures Records have already announced that the current slate of releases will be their last. Support those bands and labels which you admire in these lean times and it’s more likely that you will be able to enjoy them in the future when the global situation improves.

8)      Cheer up your favourite artists

This is a really hard time for musicians, with a lack of audience feedback adding to financial worries about the future, Why not show them that you care with a Bandcamp purchase this Friday and then post a pic on social media of your new arrival with some positive feedback to give the musicians a boost. Encourage your music-loving friends to do the same.

Pressed for time this Friday? Please find below some links to the Bandcamp stores of twenty artists covered by this blog in recent months:

- Sonsombre (Post-Gothic Records)

- Then Comes Silence

- The Kentucky Vampires

- The Black Capes

- Blood Bells

- Long Night

- Antipole

- Kaelan Mikla

- Black Angel

- Suffering For Kisses

- 1919

- Der Himmel uber Berlin (Unknown Pleasures)

- Byronic Sex and Exile

- Tiny Gods Who Walk Beside Us compilation

- Cliff and Ivy

- Miazma

- Angels of Liberty

- Whispering Sons

- She Past Away
- Guillotine Dream