Perhaps this has been answered before? A lot / most of the albums listed here from Bandcamp have a Buy Now name your price option. Having a quick search on Google and I'm unable to find some guidelines on what is a typical amount to pay that gives the artist some incentive but is also good for the purchaser. So any comments on what you feel comfortable in paying?
Perhaps this has been answered before? A lot / most of the albums listed here from Bandcamp have a Buy Now name your price option. Having a quick search on Google and I'm unable to find some guidelines on what is a typical amount to pay that gives the artist some incentive but is also good for the purchaser. So any comments on what you feel comfortable in paying?
I'd say it's pretty much up to your own discretion. I personally never download a name-your-price release for free, because if I don't feel that the music is something worth paying for how could it possibly be worth downloading? That being said, I usually only pay the minimum amount possible, simply because I find it impossible to place a value on a piece of music. One song could easily be worth a hundred dollars, but I'd be broke in a blink of an eye if I went around paying $100 per song. Sometimes I do feel a bit scummy paying only $1 for an album, but if the artist has a physical release available, I always go for that, and for artists whose music I really value I often pay a more generous amount if I have the funds. Some great releases I've gone back and purchased several times just to show my support. There are way too many great name-your-price releases on Bandcamp for me to pay $10+ for all of them without running out of money really fast, but even if paying the minimum amount doesn't really help the artist in the least financially, what I'm really doing is making a gesture that I appreciate what they are doing and encouraging them to keep doing what they are doing. By purchasing an album on Bandcamp all of my followers there also get a notification about it, and since I currently have around 175 followers on there this is actually a quite nice way of promoting the artists' music on Bandcamp.
But to give a more concrete answer to your question in terms of numbers, I personally feel that maybe $1 would appropriate for a single (maybe $0.50 too if you can pay that low), somewhere around $2-5 or more for an EP depending on the quality and length and your affinity for the artist, and for albums depends a lot but maybe $5-10 would be appropriate, or more if we are talking about a really extensive release or if the music is really good. It is recommended that if you are buying several releases from the same artists that your first add all of them to your card and them check them out all as one so that less transaction fees go to PayPal. The pricing I mentioned is probably very close to what iTunes Store and such are charging for music, so this should probably be quite fair for digital downloads. Can't really say what would be the bare minimum that would still adequately support the artists while keeping your wallet from bleeding dry, only what feels "fair". I know many people on Bandcamp can pay more than twice or thrice the minimum asking price of releases of Bandcamp and this isn't even that uncommon, so what each person feels music is worth to them is a very personal thing and varies greatly from person to person, also depending on their ability to pay the sum they feel is adequate.
I've said this many times before in various places, but Bandcamp is probably the best thing that has happened to music since the invention of the Internet. Not only are people supporting the artists whose music they love directly, they have more freedom over how much they want to pay for their music and they typically have the ability to hear what they are going to be paying for before making a decision. In addition, albums far outsell tracks on Bandcamp whereas the trend for digital download on other outlets is the opposite – this is a very positive thing in my opinion in this age where more music is being made than ever but music appreciation all at an all-time low.
I'd say it's pretty much up to your own discretion. I personally never download a name-your-price release for free, because if I don't feel that the music is something worth paying for how could it possibly be worth downloading? That being said, I usually only pay the minimum amount possible, simply because I find it impossible to place a value on a piece of music. One song could easily be worth a hundred dollars, but I'd be broke in a blink of an eye if I went around paying $100 per song. Sometimes I do feel a bit scummy paying only $1 for an album, but if the artist has a physical release available, I always go for that, and for artists whose music I really value I often pay a more generous amount if I have the funds. Some great releases I've gone back and purchased several times just to show my support. There are way too many great name-your-price releases on Bandcamp for me to pay $10+ for all of them without running out of money really fast, but even if paying the minimum amount doesn't really help the artist in the least financially, what I'm really doing is making a gesture that I appreciate what they are doing and encouraging them to keep doing what they are doing. By purchasing an album on Bandcamp all of my followers there also get a notification about it, and since I currently have around 175 followers on there this is actually a quite nice way of promoting the artists' music on Bandcamp.
But to give a more concrete answer to your question in terms of numbers, I personally feel that maybe $1 would appropriate for a single (maybe $0.50 too if you can pay that low), somewhere around $2-5 or more for an EP depending on the quality and length and your affinity for the artist, and for albums depends a lot but maybe $5-10 would be appropriate, or more if we are talking about a really extensive release or if the music is really good. It is recommended that if you are buying several releases from the same artists that your first add all of them to your card and them check them out all as one so that less transaction fees go to PayPal. The pricing I mentioned is probably very close to what iTunes Store and such are charging for music, so this should probably be quite fair for digital downloads. Can't really say what would be the bare minimum that would still adequately support the artists while keeping your wallet from bleeding dry, only what feels "fair". I know many people on Bandcamp can pay more than twice or thrice the minimum asking price of releases of Bandcamp and this isn't even that uncommon, so what each person feels music is worth to them is a very personal thing and varies greatly from person to person, also depending on their ability to pay the sum they feel is adequate.
I've said this many times before in various places, but Bandcamp is probably the best thing that has happened to music since the invention of the Internet. Not only are people supporting the artists whose music they love directly, they have more freedom over how much they want to pay for their music and they typically have the ability to hear what they are going to be paying for before making a decision. In addition, albums far outsell tracks on Bandcamp whereas the trend for digital download on other outlets is the opposite – this is a very positive thing in my opinion in this age where more music is being made than ever but music appreciation all at an all-time low.
Yep, whenever I see an album purchased by you coming by on email (I'm a follower) I always have to check it out as you and I have a big overlap in music taste
And Bandcamp is indeed a great way to find good music. That said, there is so much on there that it's sometimes hard to find something I really like, but lately I've been discovering some great jazz music on there as recently I've taken an interest into jazz.
Just talked to my buddy and the Tha 8th Starr EP will be up for free for a limited time then go up too $7. Please support your USAF Vets.
Here are two more songs for free and will always be free from BQ tha Emcee
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