Bandcamp icon
Bandcamp icon

Bandcamp

 178 likes

Music platform with direct artist sales, global discovery, instant streaming and download of DRM-free tracks, physical merchandise, offline listening, flexible pricing, and community features for fans supporting independent creators across numerous genres.

Bandcamp screenshot 1

License model

  • FreemiumProprietary

Country of Origin

  • US flagUnited States

Platforms

  • Online
  • Android
  • iPhone
4.4 / 5 Avg rating (14)
178likes
9comments

Features

Suggest and vote on features
  1.  Music Downloader
  2.  Music Store
  3.  Merchandise integration
  4.  DRM Free
  5.  Alternative music
  6.  Lossless Audio
  7.  Music Distribution
  8.  Ad-free
  9.  Support for Android Things
  10.  Integrated into iOS

 Tags

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Comments and Reviews

   
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Top Positive Comment
Bodik
Aug 28, 2016
9

I was pleasantly surprised having looked into the Bandcamp's terms and stances on the music distribution market. Their 'fair trade music policy' proves the service to be one of the rare examples of genuinely fair and open relations between a platform, an artist/label and consumers. Their profit shares are much lower than commercial giants like iTunes and Amazon offer. Unlike many subscription-based streaming services, Bandcamp provides DRM-free and uncompressed content in the very close-to-direct way. They also seem to rejoice in opposing themselves to the former. Also, given the ridiculous Soundcloud copyright decay, Bandcamp confirms several things they will never implement:

  • a paid subscription model;
  • regional restrictions (hello Spotify and Last.fm);
  • snippets instead of full songs or copyright watermarks;
  • limits on alternative distribution sources for the artists;
  • obstacles for free unauthorised downloads via exposed parts of the code (which many classify as piracy).

To be completely fair, these should come with remarks:

  • Bandcamp still focuses on selling the content rather than free promoting;
  • you cannot make a 'fan' account unless you buy something, but you can stream and navigate without one;
  • it does have a Pro account feature, though it does not impact the core functions;
  • for unpaid albums customers are asked to pay after a fixed amount of plays is reached;
  • account holders may restrict access to certain tracks on their albums.

In the end, all of it is regulated by the artists themselves, who set prices (including "name yours") and streaming limits. It makes Bandcamp probably the best global distribution platform for creators and an easy way for their fans to dig and buy music without overpaying slippery guys in suits who contribute nothing. Moreover, Bandcamp itself commits greatly to reconsidering the obsolete media business traditions and unjust trends, and shows off as a moderate rebel. No wonder it is so popular among independent artists and labels.

angry-punk
Sep 6, 2016

Very clever review, love it.

Top Negative Comment
tournelhenry
Mar 24, 2023
-1

They put on this face of being in support of independent artists and being DRM-free. However, they don't mind banning/taking down artists' pages for no reason (literally) and they give no warnings, notice or even respond to inquiries from the artist. Worse of all, if you as a customer purchased any music from an artist who then gets banned, you no longer have access to the music you PAID FOR! Fraudsters.

Douze
Oct 30, 2023

Any documented example you can give ? serious articles you can link to ?

tournelhenry
Sep 14, 2024

Artists with politically unpopular songs are removed from Bandcamp. E.g Tim Pool and FiveTimesAugust Story: https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-bandcamp-removes-timcast-five-times-august-from-platform

Mel
Sep 9, 2024
0

Good way to support more obscure artists, as well as find some of their music that can't be found elsewhere.

lionking420
Sep 9, 2022
0

I have loved BC for almost a decade. Still ad free in 2022 says a lot, plus I've heard commercial artists of the underground and mainstream consider the pay system very fair. Most music is cheap, a lot is even free or "pay what you want", and it remains the most common place for unsigned artists of all genres to upload entire discographies and distribute them freely. With that being said, it differs from "music-listening" services like spotify, and instead is for previewing music and downloading high def audio files to disk, so that it can save money by not serving large amounts of streamed music; and is likely how they remain alive in today's competitive monopoly driven models.

Lastly, if you enjoy finished/released music, especially of unsigned or underground/cult music, then you will enjoy the space and find loads of good content.

Guest
Sep 6, 2021
1

DRM-free music is important. Thank you for keeping it alive.

Stanley H
May 5, 2021
0

Great for artists.

Ginger Benage
Aug 6, 2019
0

Great way to discover new underground music.

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7 of 9 comments

What is Bandcamp?

Bandcamp helps artists sell their music and merch directly to their fans, and helps fans discover new music and directly support those who make it.

The Bandcamp app lets you explore a vast catalog of music by artists from every corner of the globe, allows you to directly support the artists you love by buying their music and merch, and lets you instantly listen to the music you've purchased, whether you're online or offline.

Official Links

Bandcamp information

  • Developed by

    US flagBandcamp, Inc.
  • Licensing

    Proprietary and Freemium product.
  • Pricing

    One time purchase (perpetual license) that costs $0 + free version with limited functionality.
  • Rating

    Average rating of 4.4 (14 ratings)
  • Alternatives

    114 alternatives listed
  • Supported Languages

    • English
    • French

AlternativeTo Categories

Audio & MusicOnline Services

Apple AppStore

  •   Updated May 20, 2025
  •   4.82 avg rating
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Our users have written 9 comments and reviews about Bandcamp, and it has gotten 178 likes

Bandcamp was added to AlternativeTo by Martin Klappacher on Jan 15, 2013 and this page was last updated Jun 18, 2025.