Bandcamp — A Starter for Music Listeners

(Please note the phrase Music Listeners in the title above. Artist and Label are two other types of users in Bandcamp, but this page is about using Bandcamp as a listener of music. Officially, Bandcamp calls this type of user a fan.)

Imagine (or recall) [old] record stores where you could quickly find most releases from your favorite artists as well as spend time browsing the bins of vinyl LPs while listening to featured selections from the staff. If you found something of interest, you could take it into a booth and dive a little deeper into the recording without needing to make a purchase. These stores made it possible to explore and discover music that did something special for you. That was the difference between them and the generic retailers, and that discovery process is a natural feature of Bandcamp.

That is one of several viable answers to the question, what is Bandcamp?

Another answer, more tangible but with less personality — It's a smart, flexible, low cost, online platform for musicians to sell their music to listeners that want to purchase/own some portion of their music. Listeners get at least 3 free plays of a track. Once purchased, listeners can indefinitely stream and/or download their purchased music. Through their purchase, listeners support the musicians with a larger percentage of the sale compared to streaming services.

One more answer — Bandcamp was founded in 2007. It's a vast, browsable, secure, online music store with no admission fee.

Bandcamp charges listeners nothing. Zero costs. And in my experience of more than 4 years, only good surprises and no ads. It's not even necessary for you to join Bandcamp to make purchases or listen, but joining does make things a bit easier and it helps your followed artists gain recognition within Bandcamp and maybe get reviewed.

If you're not yet a member of Bandcamp and you enjoy music, sign up and start (or restart) a life's journey of musical discovery and enrichment.

If you're curious, Art Lande's Bandcamp is a terrific place to start. You can use a 40% discount code for purchases until 2023. Visit this news article for discount info or to visit Art's Bandcamp ...

Send a Gift from Bandcamp

Sending digital music gifts from Bandcamp is quite straight forward and is well done. Neither the sender or the receiver needs to have a Bandcamp account. The sender can pay with PayPal or a major credit card. You need to know the receiver's email address and a name to personaluze the message.

It's not a requirement to be a Bandcamp member (AKA fan), but if you choose to join, please sign up before purchasing and follow Art Lande. It does help increase the odds of getting a review.

To send an album as a gift, select the album and under the prompt to Buy Digital Album you'll click the link Send as Gift. Fill in the brief gift form, then the payment form and add it to your cart.

To send a single track as a gift, click on the track title. In the following page, look under the prompt to Buy Digital Track and the process is the same as sending an album (above). Note: each Bandcamp item in the cart has a $1 minimum price, after discount.

Attend a Bandcamp Listening Party (using a Bandcamp Fan account)

An artist you have chosen to follow will send an announcement for the Listening Party. Simply click the RSVP button/link. As the party date approaches, you'll receive a reminder about the party. Click the link to a Live page for the Listening Party; login (if necessary) and enjoy the party!

Join a Bandcamp Listening Party (without a Bandcamp Fan account)

Bandcamp offers a lot of features for both Fans and Artist accounts. The RSVP feature for Listening Parties mentioned above is one of many. It's easy to join with minimal commitment and artists get direct financial and emotional support from you the listener (/fan). But if you have not yet decided it's for you, you still have some access to music and artist sites but it takes some extra effort, and without knowing your identity, there are restrictions and limitations.

Listening Parties are Bandcamp Live Events. You can join-in on a Live Event anytime between 30 minutes before it starts (goes live) until the event ends. This is another great way to discover music and see what people think of it. Take a look at the list of Bandcamp Live Events. If there's one playing now, join-in! If not, peruse some and maybe you'll find some musical gold.