Bandcamp Music Platform

Bandcamp is a music platform where the artist sets the price, keeps about 82% of the revenue, and the listener can stream the full album before deciding to buy. So straightforward is the model that it makes every other music platform look exploitative by comparison. Artist pages show the album art, a play button, and a price field where you can pay the listed amount or more, stripping away everything that isn't the music or the transaction. On Bandcamp Fridays, the platform waives its revenue share entirely and 100% of the purchase goes to the artist, generating millions in direct artist payments. About 2 albums per month I buy on Bandcamp and I listen to them more carefully than anything on a streaming service because I paid for them. Download formats include FLAC and WAV, lossless audio that sounds noticeably better than compressed streams on other platforms. Files are mine to keep, not licensed access that disappears when a contract expires. Following other listeners and seeing their collections creates a community feature, and discovering music through someone's purchase history feels more personal than following an algorithm's playlist.