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| "This band was better when I was younger." |
As you may have noticed by now, I don't like much of anything. Thus, on the rare occasions that I do, I feel it's my duty to share it with the world.
Today, that thing is bandcamp.com.
I'm not being paid for this endorsement, nor was I encouraged by anyone but myself to make it (though I'm totally willing to sell out if Bandcamp wants to throw me a few bucks).
I've absolutely no personal investment (well, maybe a little) in this.
Let's start with some background.
I have some slight conundrums with how I buy my music. Yes, BUY, not download from The Pirate Bay. Jerks.
I want to listen at home via CD/Vinyl/streaming, in my car which only has a CD player, and in the gym on my phone which doesn't have enough storage to hold more than 13 seconds of music.
I also am old-fashioned and want to have a physical object when I buy albums. I like to look at the album art, read the booklets, etc. The physical part of the music makes my connection to it stronger than just listening; I could (and maybe will eventually) go on about this at great length.
There just aren't many ways to meet all these needs without buying multiple copies of the same album, which simply isn't going to happen because that's stupid.
Bandcamp is (so far) the only place I've found that covers all my bases. By way of example, let's take the latest Myrkur album.
I bought it on vinyl (the CD was sold out at the time).
With all physical album purchases also comes the digital download, allowing me to burn a CD to play in my car. Downloads are available in MP3 or lossless audiophile-friendly FLAC or WAV.
Furthermore, there's an Android app (I assume there's one for you iPhone dorks too) that allows unlimited streaming of any albums you purchase, regardless of the format in which you purchased them.
So basically I get the album in three formats while only having to buy it once.
Amazon's digital download service has a similar streaming app, but it's only packaged with digital downloads. Buying physical copies won't allow you to stream them.
A further benefit is that the artists (probably) get more financial support.
Though I can't say how the money works out when record labels are involved, I can say firsthand that of all the middlemen (Amazon, iTunes, CDBaby, etc.) that handle music sales, Bandcamp skims way less off than any others. Streaming services like Google Play, Pandora, and whatnot pay artists absolutely bugger all, so by actually buying the album you're providing way more support.
Next time you buy an album, check to see if it's on Bandcamp first. There's a good chance it is.
Image stolen from gettyimages.com
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