Mercy! We launched Bandcamp just 30 days ago, and in that time 1,300 bands have signed on, uploading more than 4,300 tracks. Small potatoes perhaps compared to the behemoth whose shadow we toil under, but an excellent first step nevertheless. It’s particularly encouraging given that we have yet to spend a dime on advertising or PR. Instead, we owe the exposure to one great blog post and the strong word-of-mouth it sparked. The feedback has been so overwhelmingly positive, in fact, that we’re a little bit shocked. Where the haterz at, yo? (Haterz, that was a rhetorical question.) We’re thrilled you’re thrilled, and we wish to thank everyone who has taken the time to tweet, post, email or even just think Bandcamp-related huzzahs over the past month. Here are some of our favorites:
From the blogs:
“Bandcamp is, seemingly, just yet another website that allows you to sell your music yourself. But the solution Bandcamp offers is so elegant, so easy, and so compelling, that it basically leaps to the head of the pack…I now have Bandcamp as my default music page on my official site. It’s that good.”
http://songaday.co.uk/index.php/2008/09/two-new-sites/
“I do not endorse things easily, and you couldn’t even pay me to give a site/service this sort of recommendation, but here it is: as of right now, Bandcamp is officially the business. No competition, not even close. If you are a rapper, if you are in a group, if you are a producer, if you are managing one of the three, then do yourself a favor, take ten minutes, and set yourself up on Bandcamp.”
http://mixtapeshow.net/1016/are-you-a-rapper-get-on-bandcamp/
“A killer app for emerging bands. Really well done.”
http://joelaz.com/post/50520524/bandcamp-screencast-this-looks-awesome-ethan
“Great ideas are often based not on doing something new, but doing something the way most people didn’t even realize it should be done. Bandcamp, the newly launched digital music publishing platform, looks like it may just fall into this category. As a musician, as well as a developer, I’m terribly excited about its possibilities.”
http://justindriscoll.us/2008/09/bandcamp.html
“For too long, people have complained that what we talk about is too difficult because bands just want to make music, rather than focus on building websites. Well, now they don’t have to worry so much about that part.”
http://techdirt.com/articles/20080917/1441412296.shtml
“I love Bandcamp…let’s you create a free, clean, very custom mini-site without all the ads and extra junk…It’s the perfect quick solution for promoting your music.”
http://www.thedopefiend.com/2008/09/bandcamp.html
“clean, free, pretty…I love it”
http://www.wiretotheear.com/2008/10/12/bandcamp-and-soundcloud-screencasts/
From Twitter:
“bandcamp is bloody brilliant”
“Wow. Bandcamp is pretty spectacular.”
“i cant describe how much of a badass idea this is…if ur in a band go to http://bandcamp.mu/ revolutionary”
“Bandcamp looks like a fantastic set-up and far better than myspace.”
“MySpace music sucked, we’re moving the roster to Bandcamp.”
“musician comrads, Bandcamp looks amazing”
“http://bandcamp.mu/faq is hilarious! Thanks for the link :)”
“Bandcamp.mu is pretty serious business.”
“completely blown away by http://bandcamp.mu/”
“Incredible new site for artists… seems flawless on the surface, watch the screencast”
“I watched the webcast, http://bandcamp.mu/ is killer, congratulations! I’ll be recommending it heartily”
“Okay, Bandcamp, you have my attention (and one hell of an FAQ page)”
“Bandcamp sounds incredibly right”
And the email:
“OMFG band camp is BRILLIANT! WOW! From a musician’s standpoint this is picture perfect. I’m seriously thinking about just redirecting to bandcamp when the album comes out. It’s just superior in every way. Letting people name their own price is just…ugh, this is just awesome. This site is going to be huge.”
“I just want to say that I am beyond excited to have found you guys. Your site answers the needs for so many grassroots bands out there. This is the tool that I have been waiting for. Thank you for putting together such a wonderful site. I am reworking my entire web presence based on your site now. I will be taking my music off MySpace and replacing it with your player.”
“Loving your site. I plan to use it for Super Extra Bonus Party’s forthcoming remix album…SEBP won the prestigous Choice Music Prize – Irish album of the year in 2007 so there should be a bit of a buzz about it.”
“I’ve been seeking a home for my solo album for several weeks, and your fledgling site is suiting my needs awesomely – great work!”
“i think your service is an awesome idea! its just what i need my band is releasing an album, a track at a time on blogs”
“wonderfully fantastic in its excellence”
All right, well in addition to bowing, we’ve spent most of the first month working on basic reliability and scaling of the service. That will continue into month two, but once we iron out a few remaining kinks, you’ll start to see some very cool new features that we’re all excited about. Please follow our progress on Twitter or just stay tuned to the blog. Thanks again everybody. We’re honored to have been entrusted with the propagation of your art, and we’ll keep cranking every day to make Bandcamp an important factor in your success.
Hey, glad I could help. Thanks for letting me be part of the beginning of a wonderful project.
Congrats! The love is truly warranted.
yup, it’s great to be along for the ride!
Glad I could do my small part to spread the word. If you’re looking for some more substantial marketing help down the road, I’d love to talk.
As a professor at Providence College (RI, USA) studying entrepreneurship and the folk music industry, I have been monitoring the many internet outlets that musicians are now using to market their wares.
Bandcamp.com is so simple, elegant, and clear that it gets to the point of marketing . . . the product. No distractions, no fluff, just all the options that musicians have told me they have been searching for.
Look no further!
Congratulations.
Gesundheit,
Doktor Krankheit