Whilst Spotify has come under fire for its tokenistic approach to supporting musicians, Bandcamp has yet again justified its non-traditional model in a market overly-saturated with streaming sites. After the success of last month’s initiative, CEO and co-founder Ethan Diamond has announced plans to waive Bandcamp’s share of the revenue for the first Friday of the next three months.

Bandcamp first did this on the 20th of March, stating that “many artists have found merch and digital sales to be a last remaining financial lifeline … so, it’s more important than ever for fans to support musicians by purchasing from them directly”. Aside from losing income from canceled festival bookings and sales from the independent record stores forced into closure, an inability to tour has left an immense financial strain on working musicians.

To keep supporting musicians during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are waiving our revenue share on all sales this Friday, May 1, from midnight to midnight PDT. Let’s come together as a community to put money directly into artists' pockets: https://t.co/hPhgm7WBR4 pic.twitter.com/DG6KYI2IN5

— bandcamp (@Bandcamp) April 27, 2020

As reported by Verge, a recent study from the Music Industry Research Association pointed out that the average US musician overwhelmingly relies on tours as their primary source of income. Given that some projections have estimated live concerts may not return until Autumn 2021, the lockdown has rendered many livelihoods untenable.

But by foregoing their cut (15% of digital sales and 10% of merchandise), Bandcamp spurred music fans across the world to spend over $4.3 million in the space of 24 hours; 15 times the amount for a typical Friday. With these new plans, it’s clear the company is putting their money where their mouth is.

Help support your favourite musicians by buying music through the site from 00:00-11:59 PDT on the 1st of May, 5th of June, and the 3rd of July.