BandCamp

[meta4]

Hello fellow ambienters

Just wanted to ask if anyone cud tell me what I should need to know about signing up to Band Camp, I mean I would like to sell some of my music online, I have never done that before, but it is is a thrilling feeling thinking about it I know that much.

Since being here I have saw Band Camp a lot and on SC to, I know I can read about it online, but would rather hear some practical feedback from other musicians on here to, like useful tips ect.

I feel jittery about giving bank details online, you know that sort of thing, Band Camp seems and looks ok, I see a lot of people on here and SC use it, so it must be a legit place to sell your music.

Also people have been telling me for years that I should sell my music, but I have never had any real idea how to go about it all.

Any feedback would be highly appreciated, as am a little in the dark about this sort of thing.

Thanks

[aoVI]

You can set up Bandcamp to process payments through Paypal--although you will have to give Paypal your bank account info. While no place is completely secure, I've been on Paypal for a long while and have had zero issues. Maybe others who actually generate income from their music may chime in with a fuller experience to share.


The rest of the information/advice here is strictly my own experience, and may have no bearing on your situation:

If you are just starting out creating a following/establishing yourself as an artist, you may want to not worry too much about charging for your work just yet. Bandcamp allows up to 200 free downloads a month and to me, the main point is to get my work out there and heard.

Personally, I have never had more than a few dozen downloads a month at BC, but as I said, your situation/popularity may be different than mine. I set my account for "Pay what you want" with no minimum. That way, if someone feels strongly about your work, they do have an option to contribute, but I do not want to put any hurdles between my work and people who are actually interested in owning/listening to it.

Making music is not something I depend on to pay the bills, and to say again, your situation may be different.

[meta4]

You can set up Bandcamp to process payments through Paypal--although you will have to give Paypal your bank account info. While no place is completely secure, I've been on Paypal for a long while and have had zero issues. Maybe others who actually generate income from their music may chime in with a fuller experience to share.


The rest of the information/advice here is strictly my own experience, and may have no bearing on your situation:

If you are just starting out creating a following/establishing yourself as an artist, you may want to not worry too much about charging for your work just yet. Bandcamp allows up to 200 free downloads a month and to me, the main point is to get my work out there and heard.

Personally, I have never had more than a few dozen downloads a month at BC, but as I said, your situation/popularity may be different than mine. I set my account for "Pay what you want" with no minimum. That way, if someone feels strongly about your work, they do have an option to contribute, but I do not want to put any hurdles between my work and people who are actually interested in owning/listening to it.

Making music is not something I depend on to pay the bills, and to say again, your situation may be different.

Hey thanks so much for that info m8, I totally appreciate it, especially where you have put > the main point is to get my work out there and heard, well that's precisely what I have always wanted to do, I am fed up of making stuff but not really doing anything with it, I have been on SC for a while now, but only in the last month or so I have actually got some tracks up and running, though really its since I have been on here that has inspired me to really go deep in my music, as that is what this site has done for me, like since being here my enthusiasm has grown a lot more and sometimes I can be quite prolific to.

So since seeing Band Camp a lot here n there, I thought why not, I can only give it a shot n see what happens, but to be honest your right m8, totally, it is about getting your work out there and heard rather than thinking about how much money can be made ect, but I do like the idea of allowing the option for someone else to make their own price, that's good sportsmanship that is.

I will do a little more research into it, but thanks again for your feedback, maybe am just wanting to run rather than learn to walk first, its all a learning experience for me atm so its all good, btw I really like the cover for Eyes in the Back of My Head, looks like an abstract painting, good stuff m8 :tu:

[RikkiSho]

I have been thinking about this myself.

Any other information regarding ownership rights and all that stuff would be appreciated.

[seismic1]

You could check this out:-

http://bandcamp.com/terms_of_use#rights

[MrBoingBoing]

I’ve been on Bandcamp for just a couple of months now, having defected from Jamendo, and must admit that Bandcamp is a far better experience. Your listeners can download your music in whatever format suits them, and they package each download to make it as easy as possible for them to import into software like iTunes. Personally, I like that they offer Apple Lossless (ALAC) – perfect sound quality and imports straight into iTunes


As an artist, I like how you can work on presenting your release, then publish whenever it’s ready – you don’t need to have everything prepared up-front. If you want to release something on a certain date, you’re not dependent on the “moderators” making sure you’re not fobbing Rihanna’s music off as your own ;) There’s also the option to include bonus tracks and bonus items in with the download – on my latest release, I was able to include a “digital booklet” in PDF format with all the artwork and sleeve notes; just to try and make it more of a package rather than a mere digital download.


As for rights ownerships, you retain full ownership and can choose whether or not you want to reserve all rights, or be that bit more permissive via a Creative Commons licence.
I’d be quite interested in hearing any others’ experiences of Bandcamp

[seismic1]

I like it :thumbsup:

The user interface is self-explanatory, and the system there just seems to work. I've never had any problems.

[Synthetic Aurality]

I just finished setting up a BandCamp presence not long ago, and it was certainly one of the least stress-inducing experiences I've had. I like the way I can present track art and the overall feel of the site, and it is indeed a doddle to use.

ReverbNation, now - THAT has been a headache. Argh. Taking so long to figure out how to do things..

[RikkiSho]

So I now have a BandCamp account! However I am confused about having to set my PayPal up as a business account - when I follow those steps, it starts asking for details like address, phone number and other stuff I don't even know how to answer (such as "anticipated percentage of sales" or something). And says it will share this info with customers!! I don't want my address etc shared! Help??????

[S1gnsOfL1fe]

So I now have a BandCamp account! However I am confused about having to set my PayPal up as a business account - when I follow those steps, it starts asking for details like address, phone number and other stuff I don't even know how to answer (such as "anticipated percentage of sales" or something). And says it will share this info with customers!! I don't want my address etc shared! Help??????

I remember when I s1gned up for bandcamp it asking me that...and feeling like setting up the PayPal business account was an unnecessary step...but in the end, it IS necessary and no, not to my knowledge or experience ever "share" that info with customers. Even when you buy something, the sellers address doesn't show up on the receipt you get in email form.

It's lengthy, but take a look at the terms of service if you have any more concerns:

http://bandcamp.com/terms_of_use

Honestly, my life is so intertwined with bandcamp now it's hard to imagine life without it.

Cheers and best of luck,
-S1gns

[Thought Experiment]

If you want to take it slow, you could always set up a Premier Account with PayPal, which has some of the Business Account's features (enough to satisfy Bandcamp's needs) but is a piece of cake to set up. That's what I did - it meant I could get my Bandcamp page up-and-running with the least amount of setup, and I can always upgrade to a Business Account later, when I'm a bit closer to my goal of world domination :maniac:

As for Bandcamp itself, I'd recommend it unreservedly. The stats are very useful (if a bit dispiriting - 235 plays vs 7 purchases - seriously???), it's really easy to set up a page for a new release, and the relatively new 'fan' functionality is great. One thing I'd definitely recommend though - offer plenty of freebies to get yourself known. I made the mistake of thinking that because I've been around for a while on KVR and Soundcloud it was about time I stopped giving all my music away. I'm going to rectify that by putting a few freebies up on Bandcamp ASAP to try and establish my presence there a bit more.

[RikkiSho]

So did you guys enter that info? (Home address, phone number etc)? And what did you put for things like "anticipated revenue" and stuff?

[MrBoingBoing]

Looking at my own (very much empty) PayPal account, I've only got the Premier account. If you've ever sold something on ebay, chances are your account already is. I've had no problems with Bandcamp regarding payments, and don't recall ever being asked for estimated revenue or anything like that. Unless you expect to be making a living off your Bandcamp earnings, I wouldn't worry about going as far as a Business account.

Sent from my GT-I8160 using Tapatalk 2

[seismic1]

So did you guys enter that info? (Home address, phone number etc)? And what did you put for things like "anticipated revenue" and stuff?

I really cant remember what I did now, but I probably entered $0 for anticipated revenue. After all, I never expected to actually sell anything :biggrin:

[sup909]

Is anyone else slightly bothered by the spelling and grammar by the OP? I am not a grammar nazi, but when the internet shorthand gets to the point where I have to squint to read the post, it is hard to want to participate in the conversation.

Is it too much to ask for full spelling of words for future posts?