New numbers from Bandcamp show that in December alone artists using the site grossed more than $1 million in music and merch sales, bringing the total to-date to $12.6 million. But the most promising insight from Bandcamp is proof that more and more fans are paying for music that they probably set out to get for free.
A few months ago, Bandcamp began tracking the starting point of every sale that happens on the site and shre share these examples of free-to-paid conversions:
- "this morning someone paid $10 for an album after Googling “lelia broussard torrent.”
- "a $15 sale came in from the search “maimouna youssef the blooming hulkshare.”
- "a fan made a $12 purchase after clicking a link on music torrent tracker What.CD.
- "someone spent $10 after following a link on The Pirate Bay, next to the plea: They sell their album as a download on their website. You can even choose your format (mp3, ogg, flac, etc). Cmon, support this awesome band!”
Some more impressive Bandcamp stats:
- 22% of those sales happened because of Bandcamp, driven by things like tags, the home page, recommendations, and search.
- 40% of the time, fans pay more than the asking price for name-your-price albums.
- 53% of all purchases are made by fans located outside the U.S.
Mainstream music sales will never return to their formal levels, but growing direct-to-fan sales offer real hope for the emerging musical middle class. As Bandcamp's Ethan Diamond concludes, "Fortunately, it appears there’s still a thriving community of fans who understand that the best way to support the artists they love is by handing them money."
