A couple of weeks ago we noticed that Denver-based My Body Sings Electric sold out of tickets to an upcoming show. Nothing new here. But, the band used their Bandcamp site to bundle $10 tickets with a free download of their recently released Oceancrest single. Even better, for a couple bucks more, fans could get a free t-shirt, too. Simple, but genius.
“We wanted all of our stuff in one place,” explains band member Brandon Whalen. “Selling tickets and merch has actually been a snap for us,” he adds. The band handled Bandcamp orders and left the appropriate tickets, and goodies, for will-call pick-up at the Bluebird Theatre. Their scheme worked a treat, the band sold out of their allotted tickets quickly. “Pairing tickets with merch is a super stellar way to move some of our inventory, get some income flowing, and get the fans an even better deal,” says Whalen.
Kudos to My Body Sings Electric, check out their pop-leaning indie sounds.
We love to hear of interesting, out of the ordinary, and innovative packages for sale on Bandcamp. Oh, and as I type, here’s a unique bundle I just learned of (surely a Bandcamp first,) from the Brooklyn-based Stars and Letters record label who are bundling A Madagascan Sunset Moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus) set in a glass vial with free download of the GYPSMYTH album.
Big shout to Stars and Letters, their Misfit Mod “Sugar C” single is a recent personal favorite.
First off, thank you so much for featuring our moth & vial release and giving a shout-out to Misfit Mod! I’ve used Bandcamp as an artist since 2008, and it’s been an amazing journey to be part of, so I’m extra-thrilled to see my brand new label featured on your blog!
I wanted to take a moment and share the following thought with you:
I think Bandcamp not only helped cement the digital music revolution, but, in allowing artists and labels to couple their music with any object they wish, Bandcamp has simultaneously ushered in a second, equally-significant revolution: the album art revolution.
Today’s advances in technology have allowed us to de-couple the music and the artwork from the medium and retail packaging. Now that music delivery can occur via pure data and is liberated from the constraints of commercial packaging, the artwork can be anything we want it to be.
The digital music revolution, in other words, didn’t kill the physical medium, it liberated it.
The rules have changed. Artists no longer have to submit to the anachronistic notion that “album art” constitutes an image printed onto a 12-cm or 12-inch square piece of paper or cardboard.
If you’re a goth band and your artwork is a photo of a cross, now it can be a cross. If the album artwork is a photo of the band, now it can be 250 Polaroids of the band–each photo unique, signed, and wonderfully personal. For our label’s GPSYMTH album, we could have used a photo of a moth, but instead we used a moth.
This is progress. This is exciting. This is a paradigm shift.
Thanks for being part of it, Bandcamp!
This is a great idea. Thanks for sharing x