Epic Games acquires Bandcamp, which will continue operating as a standalone marketplace and music community; Bandcamp has paid nearly $1B to artists and labels

I'm excited to announce that Bandcamp is joining Epic Games, who you may know as the makers of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, and champions for a fair and open Internet.

Bandcamp Updates 2022-03-03 Ethan Diamond

Context & Ripple Effects

This is the third marketplace-style acquisition in Epic's recent run, after video chat network Houseparty in 2019 and the Sketchfab deal, where Epic followed up by cutting the store commission from 30% to 12%. Bandcamp brings a proven direct-to-fan payments engine — nearly $1B already paid out to artists and labels — and will keep running as a standalone marketplace and community rather than being folded into Fortnite or Unreal Engine.

The deal also immediately became ammunition in Epic's distribution fights: weeks later Epic asked a US court to stop Google delisting Bandcamp from the Play Store over its refusal to adopt Google's in-app billing, and Google ultimately agreed to keep the app listed while Epic held 10% of Bandcamp's IAP revenue in escrow.

First-order effects

Bandcamp's artists and labels gain a financially fortified owner while keeping the standalone marketplace they sell through; Epic gains a working music commerce platform with an established payout track record.

Second-order effects

The Sketchfab precedent — commission slashed from 30% to 12% post-acquisition — puts fee pressure on rival artist marketplaces competing against a Bandcamp now backed by Fortnite-scale capital.
Google was forced into an accommodation no major platform had offered: keeping Bandcamp listed without Google Play billing, with revenue escrowed instead — a crack in standard IAP enforcement created by Epic's ownership of the app.

Third-order effects

If the pattern holds, Epic is assembling a portfolio of independent creator marketplaces across media that operate largely outside Apple and Google's payment rails, using each acquisition as both a business line and legal leverage in the app-store disputes.
App-store operators may increasingly carve out bespoke terms for high-profile indie marketplaces rather than enforce uniform billing rules, eroding the one-size-fits-all commission model.

The trend: Epic Games is buying creator-owned marketplaces across media and turning them into both standalone businesses and test cases against app-store payment control.

Discussion

@bandcamp @bandcamp on x
Bandcamp is joining Epic Games! Read more here: https://blog.bandcamp.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@nibellion @nibellion on x
Epic Games has acquired.. Bandcamp https://t.co/6XpKT6pJc2 https://t.co/MB58RsA2xP
@pathedger18 Patrick Hedger on x
Things that have aged badly. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@zolajesus Zola Jesus on x
honestly: this is the world we live in. nothing can exist without venture capital, nothing can grow without corporate investment. this is why any *actually* progressive alternatives are struggling for development and resources. and why bandcamp is now a game store. https://twitte…
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Welcome Bandcamp! This an amazing company with an amazing service for music lovers and musicians. The Bandcamp team has been a constant source of inspiration by helping creatives and fans connect directly. Lots of exciting possibilities for the future. https://twitter.com/...
@danlesac @danlesac on x
Spoken to a few friends who've had direct involvement with Epic and generally, it seems, they've been pretty hands off and quick to offer support when needed. Still incredibly nervous about it, but not gonna bail on Bandcamp unless they give me a reason too. https://twitter.com/.…
@dada_drummer Damon K on x
Wait Epic is 40% owned by Tencent who have stakes in... Spotify and the major labels. Did we just lose our independent digital record store
@ronmknox Ron Knox on x
7. At the moment, streaming on Bandcamp on mobile does what all streaming companies claim to do - offer a preview of music, so fans can then decide whether they want to pay for an album. On Bandcamp, it's a necessity. You can't keep streaming without buying. That's the model.
@ronmknox Ron Knox on x
1. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this, but, as someone who is deeply cynical of consolidation, here are some quick reactions to Epic Games buying Bandcamp. https://twitter.com/...
@jonrussell Jon Russell on x
Music + metaverse isn't just a web3 concept—Epic Games is diving right in Epic, of course, made a big splash when Travis Scott performed inside Fornite back in 2020—Roblox also hosted a ‘virtual’ Lil Nas X gig https://blog.bandcamp.com/...
@ronmknox Ron Knox on x
5. Epic could also help create a thing fans have been asking for for years, and that is now occupied by third-party software: Playlists. Bandcamp playlists would be massively popular. But the worry, for me, is that it would lead to something else entirely.
@ronmknox Ron Knox on x
4. At the moment, Apple doesn't allow third-parties to accept payments for anything - whether it's Fortnite skins or albums on Bandcamp. That has forever been a barrier for the platform - and one Epic is obviously willing to go to war for.
@eriqgardner Eriq Gardner on x
Why does Epic want to own Bandcamp? I don't know, but I do know that Epic is engaged in a major antitrust showdown with Apple (now before an appeals court), and I found this @bergmayer section about the ruling last year to be intriguing...[uses Bandcamp as an example of a benefic…
@ronmknox Ron Knox on x
3. There are a few ways Epic could improve Bandcamp, and I suspect it might. It should fight for fans to be able to buy music from their phones within the Bandcamp app. Doing so would help artists and fans. Epic deeply understands Apple's payment monopoly - and how to fight it.
@_daemons @_daemons on x
If, like me, you've bought a tonne of independent artists' music on Bandcamp, I'd start downloading albums for offline backup ASAP: https://variety.com/...
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
@David_Ingram my actual theory is that they both just wanted more excuses to bond over their mutual hatred of ios app store policies
@dcseifert Dan Seifert on x
everyone: the best way to support your fav band is buy their music from bandcamp on fridays tim sweeney: k https://www.theverge.com/...
@midimyers @midimyers on x
if this means epic games is developing a spotify and/or apple music competitor, i just wanna go ahead and say, that sucks! i really love what bandcamp was, and i hope it doesn't get ruined and/or transformed into a shitty app that steals substantial income from musicians.
@ronmknox Ron Knox on x
8. Were Epic to undo this model - if it unlinked streaming from buying a song or album - it would crater the core purpose of the platform entirely. I'm worried that - given Epic's love for subscription models in games - that's exactly what it wants to do.
@jujuadams @jujuadams on x
Epic Games bought Mediatonic, promised they wouldn't force the studio to use Unreal Engine, then 6 months later - surprise! - forced everyone to use Unreal to “make a case study for how easy it is convert from Unity to Unreal” https://twitter.com/...
@s8mb Sam Bowman on x
This is very interesting. Moves like this really highlight the poverty of many competition economists' understanding of M&A in tech. https://blog.bandcamp.com/...
@zoecello @zoecello on x
Wow this is huge news. I've been selling my music on @Bandcamp since 2010, I hope that @EpicGames maintains the integrity of this critical music distribution ecosystem that thousands of independent artists rely on https://twitter.com/...
@gatorsafterdark @gatorsafterdark on x
12 minute ambient tracks coming to Fortnite!!! https://twitter.com/...
@future_of_music @future_of_music on x
You can bet we have a lot of complicated thoughts about this! 🧵 https://twitter.com/...
@ronmknox Ron Knox on x
6. My concern is that Epic looks at Bandcamp as sees the potential to create its own, very profitable streaming platform. Maybe it would be better than Spotify and the others, maybe it pays out more royalties. But the core business model of streaming remains bad for artists.
@ronmknox Ron Knox on x
2. As always, my primary concern here is with the independence and finances of artists and their labels. Bandcamp isn't perfect, but so far it has been a noble and sometimes successful attempt at recreating the brick and mortar record store online. It's too important to lose.
@tha_rami Rami Ismail on x
Just dreaming up new acquisitions for Epic at this point. Boeing? Maybelinne? Albert Heijn? McNuggets? https://blog.bandcamp.com/...
@emmablackery Emma Blackery on x
This is going to be a really, really bad thing for independent artists. https://twitter.com/...
@mark_mulligan @mark_mulligan on x
Been using Twitter solely for Ukraine news recently but this music biz news is sufficiently important to share. My $0.10 is that this is a creator-tools-for-consumers ecosystem play more than metaverse-for-artists play (tho both apply). Blog to follow. https://variety.com/...
@tedgioia Ted Gioia on x
Can someone more familiar with the video game world tell me how trusted and responsible Epic Games (new owner of Bandcamp) is? They will soon have a very, very large influence on indie music. https://twitter.com/...
@tedgioia Ted Gioia on x
Bandcamp has been acquired? It's now part of the Fortnite video game empire? https://variety.com/... I hope this works out—musicians have come to trust and rely on Bandcamp. The new owner promises Bandcamp will operate independently. But those kind of promises are often broken.
@theneedledrop @theneedledrop on x
Could be good? Could be bad? Guess we'll see? 🤷🏻‍♂️ 😰 https://twitter.com/...
@mowtendoo @mowtendoo on x
third user generated content platform epic grabs in under a year. They are likely doing vertical integration for something larger they have in mind and its making me very uncomfortable https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@danozzi Dan Ozzi on x
finally we are one step closer to getting an indie rock version of the def jam fighting games. big thief will do battle with foxing. mitski and alex g will go head to head. mac demarco will land a crushing combo on kevin morby. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@ifiremonkey @ifiremonkey on x
Epic Games has acquired Bandcamp Bandcamp will play an important role in Epic's vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more. https://www.epicgames.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@tweed_thneed @tweed_thneed on x
fuck VCs, fuck the financialization of everything, fuck making artists worry about a living wage while they make what they love https://twitter.com/...
@iveytron Chance Ivey on x
As someone who lived an entire, former life as a musician and someone that has a deep understanding of Epic's values regarding “makers” controlling their own destiny, my excitement for this is off the charts. Welcome aboard, @Bandcamp! https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
Looking forward to the next season of Fortnite, when you'll be able to earn MP3s from emo folk bands
@danboeckner @danboeckner on x
Seems bad https://twitter.com/...
@imgarysuarez @imgarysuarez on x
A beloved record store is being sold to a multimillion dollar corporation. What could go wrong?! https://twitter.com/...
@docpop @docpop on x
@Bandcamp Please don't get into NFTs. Please don't get into NFTs. Please don't get into NFTs.
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
Fair and open internet eh https://twitter.com/...
@noahyoo @noahyoo on x
What on actual earth https://twitter.com/...
@jessfromonline @jessfromonline on x
well this massively sucks https://twitter.com/...
@gum_mp3 @gum_mp3 on x
Since when has epic games been a champion of fair and open internet. Is that just code for you guys are gonna do bandcamp NFTs https://twitter.com/...
@melissamcewen McEwen on x
Even the “nice” tech companies will sell you out for a buck https://twitter.com/...
@meddlingmage Metaling Mage on x
I don't like this :( https://twitter.com/...
@pulsesva @pulsesva on x
releasing our next album on unreal engine https://twitter.com/...
@mowtendoo @mowtendoo on x
Very bad https://twitter.com/...
@wario64 @wario64 on x
Bandcamp is Joining Epic Games https://blog.bandcamp.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@juiceboxca Jack Appleby on x
NO WAY. I love this so much. Epic Games has brought so much energy to so many of their acquisitions, and Bandcamp is a wonderful, artist-first platform. So excited to see this grow. https://twitter.com/...
@trndytrndy @trndytrndy on x
Tbf this isnt the worst thing ever, i feel this could go in the direction of epic helping bandcamp make/service a streaming platform like spotify along side normal bandcamp But also im very suspicious cause epic games is epic games and theres probably some larger motive here http…
@bloodberry_tart Berry on x
weird but alright i guess https://twitter.com/...
@drownedinsound @drownedinsound on x
This sounds like amazing news. Congrats @Bandcamp 👏 https://twitter.com/...
@backxwash @backxwash on x
If you see a fortnite skin of me doing the woah to Wail Of The Banshee mind your business https://blog.bandcamp.com/...
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
i guess... they'll need... music in the metaverse? https://t.co/qSHlFJgzpi
@jonbernhardt Nathan Bernhardt on x
as a fundamental rule acquisitions are neutral-to-bad for you the consumer and bad-to-horrifying for you the worker/content producer (whatever your relationship to the acquired entity). no reason to think this is an exception that'll test it. https://twitter.com/...
@mellomakes @mellomakes on x
What. https://twitter.com/...
@lazerwalker @lazerwalker on x
I am... pessimistic. https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
What??? https://twitter.com/...
@epicnewsroom @epicnewsroom on x
🎶 Join us in welcoming @Bandcamp to Epic! Together we'll support fair and open platforms for artists and their fans. Learn more here: https://www.epicgames.com/...

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