I see people are suggesting a conventional streaming platform. I’m sure you know but this is NOT a replacement for Bandcamp.
Catalogues of streaming platforms are, in vast majority, owned by one of the three major labels which are all US companies. While I do think Qobuz is a vastly better choice than Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, etc, most of your subscription money will probably end up lining the pockets of those three US conglomerates (Sony Music, Warner Corp., Universal), even if you only listen to independent artists.
While with Bandcamp, most of the money you spend on the platform goes directly to the artists (Bandcamp takes 10% IIRC).
Bandcamp is indeed a US company, owned by another US company Epic Games (Unreal Engine, Fortnite…) of which the largest shareholder and CEO is yet another US billionaire (Tim Sweeney). They are definitely worthy of boycott however it is worth mentioning that Sweeney has called out other tech billionaires courting Trump and has put rather serious money towards the conservation of nature reserves. I do not think we should consider him our friend in any way, but he seems about as decent as billionaires can get.
Anyways, I think the best would be to reach out directly to the artists to ask them if they can sell their music to you directly or if they have an alternative non US platform where you can actually buy their music for meaningful money (rather than stream it on Qobuz where you will end up paying them fractions of cents.)
I wouldn’t fret over it too much if you continue paying artists through Bandcamp. If you are buying music from European artists on that platform, I’m nearly 100% certain than more of your money will stay in Europe than if you pay for a conventional European streaming service like Qobuz or Spotify instead.
Hello,
I see people are suggesting a conventional streaming platform. I’m sure you know but this is NOT a replacement for Bandcamp.
Catalogues of streaming platforms are, in vast majority, owned by one of the three major labels which are all US companies. While I do think Qobuz is a vastly better choice than Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, etc, most of your subscription money will probably end up lining the pockets of those three US conglomerates (Sony Music, Warner Corp., Universal), even if you only listen to independent artists.
While with Bandcamp, most of the money you spend on the platform goes directly to the artists (Bandcamp takes 10% IIRC).
Bandcamp is indeed a US company, owned by another US company Epic Games (Unreal Engine, Fortnite…) of which the largest shareholder and CEO is yet another US billionaire (Tim Sweeney). They are definitely worthy of boycott however it is worth mentioning that Sweeney has called out other tech billionaires courting Trump and has put rather serious money towards the conservation of nature reserves. I do not think we should consider him our friend in any way, but he seems about as decent as billionaires can get.
Anyways, I think the best would be to reach out directly to the artists to ask them if they can sell their music to you directly or if they have an alternative non US platform where you can actually buy their music for meaningful money (rather than stream it on Qobuz where you will end up paying them fractions of cents.)
I wouldn’t fret over it too much if you continue paying artists through Bandcamp. If you are buying music from European artists on that platform, I’m nearly 100% certain than more of your money will stay in Europe than if you pay for a conventional European streaming service like Qobuz or Spotify instead.