Bandcamp Reviews
Bandcamp Customer Reviews (8)
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Bandcamp Customer’s Q&A
Bandcamp Features and Benefits
Bandcamp is a platform that offers a range of features and benefits for both artists and listeners.
For artists, Bandcamp provides more control over their releases and sales. It supports pre-orders, offline streaming, downloading, merchandise, and streaming analytics. Artists can also connect with the Bandcamp community, which drives 30% of Bandcamp's monthly sales. This connection is facilitated through features like discover, artist recommendations, fan collections, and the music feed.
Artists can also use targeted messaging to communicate directly with their fans and target messages by fan location and amount spent. They can give the press and their mom exclusive streaming access to their private tracks and albums. Bandcamp also offers ad-free video hosting and allows artists to use their own domain for a more on-brand pointer to their Bandcamp site.
For listeners, Bandcamp offers unlimited mobile streaming, the ability to re-download past purchases, collect new music, create a wishlist, get alerts for new music releases, and share their music taste.
In addition, Bandcamp helps listeners find and buy new music through its ever-growing content library and editorial services like Bandcamp Daily.
Overall, Bandcamp is a comprehensive platform that caters to the needs of both artists and listeners, providing them with a space to connect, discover, and support each other.
Bandcamp Pricing
Bandcamp offers two types of accounts: a free account and a Pro account. The free account allows artists to start earning money for their music straight away.
For the Pro account, the cost is $10 USD/month. It provides deeper stats, private streaming, batch upload, video, and more.
Bandcamp also offers a subscription service. The monthly or annual fee is chosen by the artist. Subscribers receive all new music or shows made by the artist, releases from the artist's back catalog, and any track or album designated as subscriber-only.
As for fees, Bandcamp's fee for digital items is 15%, which drops to 10% once an artist reaches $5,000 USD in sales. For physical items, the fee is 10%. Shipping and tax, if applicable, are not included when calculating this fee.
When uploading a song for release, artists can choose how they want to price it. The default price for singles is $1, and for albums is $7. However, Bandcamp will take 10-15% of each sale depending on how many sales the artist has made to date.
Payment Method
Bandcamp.com offers several payment methods:
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PayPal: All payouts from Bandcamp are made to the artist's or label's PayPal account. If a PayPal account hasn't been set up yet, it needs to be created.
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Standard Payments: The majority of accounts on Bandcamp use the Standard Payments system. Under this system, payments for digital and physical items are processed separately. Payments for digital items are processed first by Bandcamp and paid out to the PayPal account 24-48 hours later. Payments for physical merchandise are paid directly from the fan to the PayPal account without being processed through Bandcamp.
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Enhanced Payments: Some accounts on Bandcamp use Enhanced Payments. This system allows fans to pay for music and merch using a credit or debit card or a Bandcamp gift card. Bandcamp also collects and remits the necessary marketplace taxes on physical orders for sellers using Enhanced Payments. For accounts using Enhanced Payments, all payments for digital items and physical merchandise are processed first by Bandcamp and paid out to the PayPal account 24-48 hours later.
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Monthly Payouts: Bandcamp offers a monthly payout option in addition to the default 24-48 hour payout period. When the monthly payout option is selected from the Profile page, sales are paid to the PayPal account in bulk on the 1st of each month.
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Credit or Debit Card: Credit card checkout is available for digital, and some merch purchases, made in British pounds, US, Canadian, and Australian dollars, Japanese yen, and euros.
Please note that not all artists and labels on Bandcamp are registered traders, or professional sellers – sales from these pages are not eligible for the protections listed above. These sellers are still absolutely wonderful talented artists and should be supported nonetheless.
Bandcamp FAQs
Bandcamp Alternatives
Here are some of the top alternatives to Bandcamp.com:
- Spotify: A freemium music streaming service providing digital rights management-restricted content from record labels including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal.
- Last.fm: A music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It offers music discovery, recommendations, and listening services.
- AIMP: A freeware audio player for Windows and Android, supporting a wide variety of formats and playlists.
- Soundcloud: An online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio.
- iTunes: A media player, media library, Internet radio broadcaster, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store, developed by Apple Inc.
- CD Baby: A platform that makes music available on 150+ streaming and download services around the world, including Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, Amazon, Pandora, YouTube, and Deezer.
- Orange Room Music: A music platform.
- Wynk Music: A music streaming & downloading app, for every mood.
- Tidal: A subscription-based music, podcast, and video streaming service that combines lossless audio and high-definition music videos with exclusive content and special features on music.
- TuneIn: An American audio streaming service delivering live news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 60 million monthly active users.
Each of these platforms has its own unique features and may serve as a good alternative to Bandcamp depending on specific needs and preferences.
Bandcamp Return Policy?
The return policy on Bandcamp.com varies depending on the type of purchase:
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Physical Merch: If there's a problem with an order, the first step is to contact the artist or label directly using the 'Contact' link on their Bandcamp page. In some instances, artist or label accounts may be registered as traders, or professional sellers. In these cases, the purchase may be protected by EU/UK consumer laws. Eligible items shipped to the EU and UK have at least a 14-day return policy upon receipt of the item. This right to return does not extend to custom-made physical products and perishable goods, unless otherwise specified by the artist or label.
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Digital Purchases: Refunds for digital purchases that have not been downloaded can be issued. Refunds can also be issued for purchases for which there is a valid, verifiable reason for the refund. Please note: refunds can only be issued within 180 days of the original purchase date.
If the digital purchase has audio problems, missing tracks, or another issue that may be solvable with simple coordination with the seller, it is recommended to get in touch with the artist or label directly to request that they re-upload the files or add the missing audio. For everything else, contact Bandcamp, providing the reason for the refund request, the URL or release title and artist name of the item purchased, and the Bandcamp transaction ID and/or PayPal transaction ID, if applicable.
Please note that not all artists and labels on Bandcamp are registered traders, or professional sellers – sales from these pages are not eligible for the protections listed above. These sellers are still absolutely wonderful talented artists and should be supported nonetheless.
If a physical order hasn't been received, PayPal’s Buyer Protection Period covers the purchase up to 180 days from the date of the sale. Opening a dispute will alert PayPal to the missing order, and ensure that either the package is received or a refund is issued.
This is the general return policy for Bandcamp.com. For specific cases, it's always best to check with the artist or label directly.
How To Open A Bandcamp Account?
To open an account on Bandcamp.com, follow these steps:
- Visit the Bandcamp.com website.
- Click on the Sign Up button.
- Choose the type of account to create: Fan, Artist, or Label.
- For a Fan account, enter an Email address, choose a Username (60 character max, minimum 3), and a Password (9 characters minimum). Agree to the Terms of Use and click on Sign Up.
- For an Artist or Label account, the process is similar but with additional steps to set up the artist or label profile.
After signing up, users can follow their favorite artists, build a wishlist, get instant streaming and downloads of their purchases via the free Bandcamp app. Artists and labels can sell directly to their fans with total control over their music and pricing, and have easy access to their customers’ data, real-time stats, music chart reporting, and more.
Remember, to create an account on Bandcamp, a valid email address is required. After signing in, users can start creating their first playlists. Enjoy exploring Bandcamp!