Maybe I’m late on this - but new offering from Bandcamp - for example for “heavy” music lovers -

https://bandcamp.com/club/the-hard-stuff

Anyone dipped their toe in?

General intro here.

It's an interesting idea. Maybe I'm still salty about all the Happenings™ in the last few years, but I'd prefer their existing editorial staff to run these as opposed to some tastemakers that I've never heard of*. I buy records based on those editorial recommendations pretty regularly.

* - completely willing to grant that this may be just a lack of exposure on my part.

Social influencer is the number one most preferred job.

Stupid.

I hope it works out for them but I am not interested.

brephophagist wrote: Tue Sep 02, 2025 1:55 pmIt's an interesting idea. Maybe I'm still salty about all the Happenings™ in the last few years

This. Fuck what Bandcamp has become.

penningtron wrote: Wed Sep 03, 2025 6:48 am

brephophagist wrote: Tue Sep 02, 2025 1:55 pmIt's an interesting idea. Maybe I'm still salty about all the Happenings™ in the last few years

This. Fuck what Bandcamp has become.

Bandcamp trying to be Spotify? That's like the opposite of what it used to stand for.

I'm surprised Bandcamp hasn't been brought up in the 'Enshittification' thread.

I hadn't even considered that angle but I guess that's true too. I'm still upset about the corporate acquisitions and laying off of good people, including some connected to this community.

Also, from an artist perspective, what do you really get out of BC at this point? You still do most of the work getting people there, so you're basically paying for a UI that was impressive in 2010. The discover tools are neat but mostly cover more well-known things and their offshoots, probably not your band. I don't fault listeners for using BC to find new things, but just go buy or support those things directly.

I wanna put my Bandcamp fan page behind a paywall.

If others would like to know what music I buy, they will pay for the privilege.

I also wanna live in faraday cage on the moon.

penningtron wrote: Wed Sep 03, 2025 8:28 am Also, from an artist perspective, what do you really get out of BC at this point? You still do most of the work getting people there, so you're basically paying for a UI that was impressive in 2010. The discover tools are neat but mostly cover more well-known things and their offshoots, probably not your band. I don't fault listeners for using BC to find new things, but just go buy or support those things directly.

Not exactly your question, but here are things that keep me going back to Bandcamp as a listener, in order of import:
- easiest way to buy both a lossless download and the vinyl at the same time
- related to ^^: many artists and labels I follow do not sell digital music through any other retailer (in the US anyway)
- Bandcamp fridays
- editorial recommendations (which I agree, mostly highlight already-mid-tier-or-higher artists)

For context: I basically use music streaming as an audition / sample function for what I want to purchase, and otherwise listen to downloaded digital music or records. So I'll grant that I am not an important music consumer, statistically.