As we are all very aware, the Covid-19 pandemic has pretty much brought the music industry to a standstill globally, with concerts and tours being cancelled for the foreseeable future. Artists, bands and venues have found themselves without their main source of income, and not knowing when it will even return. But... this Friday (03.20.20) you can do your bit and help support your favourite bands and artists by purchasing their music and merch via their Bandcamp pages, where the artists will receive 100% of all payments due to Bandcamp wavering their cut of all sales for the day! This is such a wonderful gesture indeed.
Ethan Diamond, the co-founder and CEO of Bandcamp had this to say:
"The Covid-19 pandemic is in full force, and artists have been hit especially hard as tours and shows are being canceled for the foreseeable future. With such a major revenue stream drying up almost entirely, finding ways to continue supporting artists in the coming months is now an urgent priority for anyone who cares about music and the artists who create it. The good news is that we’re already seeing many fans going above and beyond to support artists across Bandcamp.
To raise even more awareness around the pandemic’s impact on musicians everywhere, we’re waiving our revenue share on sales this Friday, March 20 (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much needed money directly into artists’ pockets.
For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not. Still, we consider this just a starting point. Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come, so we’re also sharing some ideas below on how fans can support the artists they love and how artists can give fans new, creative ways to provide support.
It may sound simple, but the best way to help artists is with your direct financial support, and we hope you’ll join us on Friday and through the coming months as we work to support artists in this challenging time."
We know it may be difficult for some to support this due to livelihoods being disrupted too, but to those that are lucky enough to be in a position to do so, then please do your best in helping out in any way you can, make it an excuse to get some of those tracks you have had on your wish list for a while, or even find some new music and bands that you haven't heard of before. Let's keep talent alive, and lets face it, music is great for the soul and lifts our spirits.
lastly, once the music venues are able to re-open, make it a priority to go out and support them too. Without these places we won't get to see some great bands perform if they are forced to close from financial difficulties caused by the shut down! <3
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