‘Fortnite’ Maker Epic Games Acquires Bandcamp
Epic Games has acquired the music marketplace platform Bandcamp, the companies said on Wednesday.
Bandcamp will continue to operate as a standalone marketplace, led by co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond, but the platform will use Epic Game’s resources to expand internationally and improve its live streaming, mobile, search and payment capabilities.
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The music marketplace will continue to use its “artist-first” revenue model, which gives Bandcamp a 10 to 15 percent cut on each sale. That model, according to Diamond, gives artists an average of 82 percent net revenue per sale. Bandcamp Fridays, a monthly event when Bandcamp waives its standard revenue cut to support artists, will also continue following the Epic Games acquisition.
“While over the years we’ve heard from other companies who wanted us to join them, we’ve always felt that doing so would only be exciting if they strongly believed in our mission, were aligned with our values, and not only wanted to see Bandcamp continue, but also wanted to provide the resources to bring a lot more benefit to the artists, labels, and fans who use the site. Epic ticks all those boxes,” Diamond said in a blog post announcing the acquisition. “We share a vision of building the most open, artist-friendly ecosystem in the world, and together we’ll be able to create even more opportunities for artists to be compensated fairly for their work.”
The Bandcamp acquisition is one of Epic’s first major purchases outside of the gaming and technology space. The deal signals Epic’s goal to build out its own creator marketplace across technology, games, art and music.
“Bandcamp has built an incredible community and business where up and coming artists can succeed thanks to the direct support of their fans, with one of the best revenue models and terms in music,” Steve Allison, vp and general manager of the Epic Games Store, said. “This aligns closely with Epic’s approach to supporting creators across all media and enabling them to connect directly with their fans.”
