Software developer

Software developer Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

Epic Games, the software developer of fortnite, Unreal engine, armament of war and Rocket League, acquired internet music company Bandcamp.

Bandcamp was launched in 2008 and was one of the first ways for musicians to earn money by selling their music directly to fans online. Since streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have limited royalties of $0.003 and $0.005 and $0.01 per stream, respectively, Bandcamp artists make an average of 82% of each sale.

Bandcamp CEO and co-founder Ethan Diamond wrote a note on Bandcamp’s blog explaining the deal in more detail. He wrote, “Bandcamp will continue to operate as a standalone marketplace and music community, and I will continue to lead our team. The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artist-driven revenue model (where artists make an average of 82% of every sale), you’ll still have the same control over how you submit your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and Daily will continue to showcase the diverse and amazing music on the site.

Dimond went on to talk about Epic Games’ upcoming role; he wrote, “…behind the scenes we are working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward on Bandcamp, basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, music system payment and search and discovery features, to new initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.

Since its inception, Bandcamp has sold nearly $1 billion worth of music and art, and in 2020 the website has raised $40 million from musicians.

Closing his post, Dimond thanked the site’s community of users for coming together for over 14 years and expressed his enthusiasm to serve them in the years to come.

Read Diamond’s full memo on Epic’s acquisition of Bandcamp here.