Indie music mainstay Bandcamp has been acquired by Fortnite developer and publisher Epic Games, of all entities. The companies announced the move in statements shared on their respective websites Wednesday.
“Bandcamp will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community, and I will continue to lead our team,” Bandcamp CEO and co-founder Ethan Diamond wrote on the site’s blog. “The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model (where artists net an average of 82% of every sale), you’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site.”
Diamond continues, “However, behind the scenes we’re working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.”
“Epic and Bandcamp share a mission of building the most artist-friendly platform that enables creators to keep the majority of their hard-earned money,” Epic’s announcement affirms. “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.”
“Bandcamp’s mission is to help spread the healing power of music by building a community where artists thrive through the direct support of their fans,” said Diamond in a statement shared by Epic. “In Epic, we’ve found a partner who believes as deeply as we do that the future of music, and art itself, depends on the creation of equitable and inclusive communities like the one our fans and artists have helped to build. We’re excited to work alongside the Epic team to accelerate the realization of our mission and pursue our shared goal of empowering more creators in a fair and open way.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Bandcamp team to Epic Games,” said Epic Vice President and General Manager, Store Steve Allison. “Bandcamp has built an incredible community and business where up and coming artists can succeed thanks to the direct support of their fans, with one of the best revenue models and terms in music. This aligns closely with Epic’s approach to supporting creators across all media and enabling them to connect directly with their fans.”
Artists including Ariana Grande, J Balvin and Travis Scott have performed virtually within Epic’s flagship title, Fortnite, while the company’s Soundwave Series has hosted in-game appearances by a variety of international musicians. Weezer even once premiered an album in the game. Here’s hoping Bandcamp’s future under Epic isn’t quite so dystopian as that.
