Saving Bandcamp

[wetnoodle]

Hey y'all, Bandcamp just got bought out and the new CEO is refusing to recognize the existing union. It's one of the last fair music platforms for artists and they deserve backlash for what they're doing to it.

petition link

[Icey!]

I don't use bandcamp, but bumping this because I think it deserves to be known.

[Melooon]

I was just watching The Grapes of Wrath last night (for the 50th time its a great movie), and I know its not fair to compare the two but it feels connected to the same story of greed to me...

Epic Games really deserve so much blame in this; they purchased Bandcamp with no plan, or purpose, or good intention towards the platform; now 3 years later they sell it to Songtradr, who are uniquely unsuited to support or maintain the ethos of bandcamp - Epics actions here are comparable to a calculated attack on Bandcamp and indie music culture as whole

Its also worth noting that Songtradr also just purchased 7digital, which is one of the few good online music stores - which means that they are very close to having a monopoly on digital download music; thats really disturbing.

Im not sure a petition is going to help here; but Id still sign it anyway, and Id avoid anything to to with Epic games 

[DiffydaDude]

Epic Games really deserve so much blame in this; they purchased Bandcamp with no plan, or purpose, or good intention towards the platform; now 3 years later they sell it to Songtradr, who are uniquely unsuited to support or maintain the ethos of bandcamp - Epics actions here are comparable to a calculated attack on Bandcamp and indie music culture as whole

FFS god forbid i can just be happy for once. There always has to be some shit to ruin everything i love about being alive. I need help

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

I was just watching The Grapes of Wrath last night (for the 50th time its a great movie), and I know its not fair to compare the two but it feels connected to the same story of greed to me...

Good old Steinbeck (before he went senile). I very much recommend the book - even though the movie does an okay job to translate it, it is much, much better (in fact one of my favorite books as a teenager :D).

Epic Games really deserve so much blame in this; they purchased Bandcamp with no plan, or purpose, or good intention towards the platform; now 3 years later they sell it to Songtradr, who are uniquely unsuited to support or maintain the ethos of bandcamp - Epics actions here are comparable to a calculated attack on Bandcamp and indie music culture as whole

Its also worth noting that Songtradr also just purchased 7digital, which is one of the few good online music stores - which means that they are very close to having a monopoly on digital download music; thats really disturbing.

I hope I don't sound nosewise or overly pessimist, as I hate to spread bad mood - but: This was bound to happen. The whole digital industry is based on the commodification of it's users, and when a capitalist corporation offers you a good online service, it is likely a honeypot to attract you, lock you in, and get eventually sell you in the one or other way.

Im not sure a petition is going to help here; but Id still sign it anyway, and Id avoid anything to to with Epic games 

When Hasbro went out to milk DND I said the same thing, but it proved somewhat wrong - they gave in back then. For now. Not sure if the same can be done for Bandcamp. I'm however sure that the problems are inherent to our system, and that the fat dog will come get DND and Bandcamp in the end - thus we should strife to explore and create other means to share cultural products.

FFS god forbid i can just be happy for once. There always has to be some shit to ruin everything i love about being alive. I need help

Be free, man  .
The world is full of beautiful things you can enjoy without any company making a dime out of it. These things might also be endangered through the world devouring machine that we collectively keep alive, but usually they are more steadfast than the things that were already reified by it.
Go hiking, write something, read some public domain poems, read a book from your (hopefully existing) public library, visit a friend, make some music yourself. You don't need them. They need you.

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https://radiofreefedi.net/ is a nice project that was mentioned here elsewhere. Not perfect. Sometimes it lacks quality, but it is a good start.

[DiffydaDude]

Be free, man  .
The world is full of beautiful things you can enjoy without any company making a dime out of it. These things might also be endangered through the world devouring machine that we collectively keep alive, but usually they are more steadfast than the things that were already reified by it.
Go hiking, write something, read some public domain poems, read a book from your (hopefully existing) public library, visit a friend, make some music yourself. You don't need them. They need you.

But thats the thing. Every time I find something like that and finally start feeling comfortable and safe again, it immediately gets ruined. I've been contemplating making a bandcamp account so i could get all these cool indie albums, so of course bandcamp has to get sold to some company that will ruin the site and everything I love about it, and it feels like its all just to make me suffer. Every time I try to make my monotonous life better, the pain catches up and either takes it away or makes it worse, and it's like ive been stuck forever

[Melooon]

of course bandcamp has to get sold to some company that will ruin the site and everything I love about it

While Id love to say this MIGHT not happen; they could do nothing - but this prob will happen.

Buuttt you know.. thats not a reason not to enjoy it now; its still full of great music, its still here today. Ultimately everything ends one way or another, nothing lasts and is good and full of life for all time. We fight to maintain the things we love for as long as we can, but eventually even the best things must go.

So make your account, find your music, enjoy what is here today There's actually a pome about this I shared a while ago maybe it will mean something to you

[DiffydaDude]

While Id love to say this MIGHT not happen; they could do nothing - but this prob will happen.

Buuttt you know.. thats not a reason not to enjoy it now; its still full of great music, its still here today. Ultimately everything ends one way or another, nothing lasts and is good and full of life for all time. We fight to maintain the things we love for as long as we can, but eventually even the best things must go.

So make your account, find your music, enjoy what is here today There's actually a pome about this I shared a while ago maybe it will mean something to you

Well I know everything has an end, but why cant things just end just by getting, like, closed or something. Nowadays these sites only end when we stop using them, and inevitably there'll end up being no alternative so people will have to suck it up and keep on using the site, missing the old days of whatever site it is. Its not the ending of something that makes me sad, its when it just slowly loses itself because its kept alive for too long, and without any other alternatives to move to

[wetnoodle]

Well I know everything has an end, but why cant things just end just by getting, like, closed or something. Nowadays these sites only end when we stop using them, and inevitably there'll end up being no alternative so people will have to suck it up and keep on using the site, missing the old days of whatever site it is. Its not the ending of something that makes me sad, its when it just slowly loses itself because its kept alive for too long, and without any other alternatives to move to

It won't help much with the feeling of dread but this explains why we're seeing this so much.

[CableCat]

It won't help much with the feeling of dread but this explains why we're seeing this so much.

Omg this put so much I was percieving into words I could never find to describe the problem. Thank you, I saved the website!

[DiffydaDude]

It won't help much with the feeling of dread but this explains why we're seeing this so much.

Thanks, but I read the article and honestly I dont really like it. It's too predisposed, and it just goes on and on with all these buzzwords, which i dont really like in articles, because it's really hard to follow when you have to look up what something means all the time

[TheFrugalGamer]

Thanks, but I read the article and honestly I dont really like it. It's too predisposed, and it just goes on and on with all these buzzwords, which i dont really like in articles, because it's really hard to follow when you have to look up what something means all the time

Cory Doctorow, who wrote the post, is rather wordy in general I've noticed. He posts a looooooot, and usually warns people about it before they follow him. He does generally have good ideas if you can get through the articles, but is definitely not one of those you want to try and keep up with constantly.

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

Well I know everything has an end, but why cant things just end just by getting, like, closed or something. Nowadays these sites only end when we stop using them, and inevitably there'll end up being no alternative so people will have to suck it up and keep on using the site, missing the old days of whatever site it is. Its not the ending of something that makes me sad, its when it just slowly loses itself because its kept alive for too long, and without any other alternatives to move to

While I can understand, I can only strongly advice you to search for things that are less dependent of others - and especially web platforms - that make you happy. There is a lot of art you can find that is not subject to a that intense commercialization, and you can do things on your own. Build up relations. Search yourself hobbies - many can be done with little or even no equipment. If you tie your happiness to things that are the playball of giant corporations (the same is not only true for platforms and social media, but also IPs, franchises, and so on) you will either get disappointed or forced to shut your eyes.
The link wetnoodle posted might make many words about it, but the central premise is right: Corporations in capitalism work for their profit, and if it helps them they will gain them from your back. Expecting something else is like expecting a white shark not to eat meat.

[DiffydaDude]

While I can understand, I can only strongly advice you to search for things that are less dependent of others - and especially web platforms - that make you happy. There is a lot of art you can find that is not subject to a that intense commercialization, and you can do things on your own. Build up relations. Search yourself hobbies - many can be done with little or even no equipment. If you tie your happiness to things that are the playball of giant corporations (the same is not only true for platforms and social media, but also IPs, franchises, and so on) you will either get disappointed or forced to shut your eyes.
The link wetnoodle posted might make many words about it, but the central premise is right: Corporations in capitalism work for their profit, and if it helps them they will gain them from your back. Expecting something else is like expecting a white shark not to eat meat.

Yeah, you're probably right. This is supposed to be about bandcamp though so i'd like to keep discussing this in PMs

[j]

friendly reminder that Bandcamp - like all music platforms - does not control the underground (not always indie) music scene. the folks that do are the artists making music.

Bandcamp's transfer sucks for the people working at Bandcamp, and the performers making money off of the site, but people are still going to make music. ninety-nine percent of the population can still make music (they're just embarassed and haven't found their groove yet!).

unless you live in a hamlet in the Alps, there will /definitely/₂ be a local musician that performs near you. there's loads of street performers and groups i see all the time that aren't online at all. honestly, i can't even remember the last time i used my MP3 because there's just /so/ many local musicians out there i can support by seeing live. if you do live in the Alps: make music yourself :P

underground music is just hard to find, and that's the point. a lot of artists (myself included) create music for themselves; everything online is secondary.

as much as this sucks; i don't really see this as an issue for non-commercial musicians. music isn't something that can be owned or controlled, so Bandcamp's transfer really seems to me like a distraction from anything important.₁


1: very much changed my tune on this - Thunder raises some really good points after this post
2: there /might/ be, or there might not