The alternaBandcamps (Ampwall, Harmonic, et al) -- search/destroy

Taking the term from a note from UK musician Leo Chadburn, who was writing to me about one of them -- but the idea is, in the face of Bandcamp's slow mutation what it was to the more chin-scratching thing it is, various alternate approaches are happening, though I'm not seeing any overwhelming traction yet. But the basic idea remains: a spot to direct sell things that isn't Apple, Amazon, etc., whether digital or physical releases or items or both. I see this thread more as a place to centralize discussion rather than specifically say people should bail from Bandcamp: I still purchase via the site a lot, though I have chosen not to write for them any more. Throw in some links as needed, talk about pros/cons from what you're noticing, etc. Starting off with three I know:

Ampwall: https://ampwall.com/

Harmonic: https://www.harmonic.fm/ (I've spoken with these folks directly and an interview feature is in the offing)

Subvert: https://subvert.fm/ (this is the one Leo mentioned doing some reading up on)

HI DERE

Speak on (or are you behind one of these, I can't remember).

no I'm just v interested in this specific thing

I signed up for Subvert's free co-op thing and got a very fancy certificate, zine (which is like a detailed business plan and economic/philosophical tract), and stickers in the mail. Can't decide if it's promising or just smacks of way too much start up money before anything actually exists?

What’s the issue with Bandcamp? I know there’s been ownership changes in rapid succession but nothing seems to have really changed apart from the less frequent editorial content?

Woops i already violated your rule Ned

I was going to say! Save that for a Bandcamp-specific thread.

hey ned still doing the lord's work, i see. ty for this. will be watching thread with much enthusiasm and cheerleading if that's okay.

i do already have a tangential question for you, or anybody reading this who might know: are you familiar with any platforms for non-profit creators? i have my music on bandcamp for free, without the option to pay. i am not trying to promote a band or be a producer. i simply want to share recorded music. youtube is fine, but i like bandcamp's option to allow file downloading. is there anything for weirdos like me? or does everything have to be aggressively monetized eventually?

the reality of my life is that i am a disabled person who lives on public assistance and i feel like the music i make is kinda taxpayers dollars at work or whatever, so i do feel morally obligated to decline compensation. also my music is lofi bedroom mistake-riddled amateurism.

It's a fair question I don't have an answer to -- ultimately someone somewhere ponies up for storage and streaming costs somehow, the question is always exactly how.

archive.org maybe? I've been finding a lot of live bootlegs on there, with full hq downloads.

I seem to remember being invited to participate in/contribute to Harmonic.fm in some kind of curatorial/tastemaker capacity, but haven't done anything with/about it yet.

Having a hard time even understanding Subvert. I pay $100 and get a zine? Where's the part where I can listen to some music?

So Ned, where do you want me to ask you why you chose to stop writing for BC? The music writers' thread?

may I humbly submit this possible thread for further discussion of BC issues (which I would def talk about)

Kickstarter / Bandcamp / etc - C or D?

I'm curious what happens behind the scenes at places like this when there's a intra-band dispute or some royalty issue. In a lot of ways, pirating everything and venmo'ing random amounts to individual band members out of guilt is really tough to beat as a disintermediation method, to the point where I wonder if there's just a site that's a simple crowd-sourced database of band members with online tip jars.

at first glance, ampwall seems decent but i'm not sure if their business model (taking only 5% of sales but charging $10/year to allow people to upload to it) is going to be sustainable for them

i don't understand what the selling point of harmonic is supposed to be, why would artists want 'curators' getting a cut of their sales? i can kinda see what they're envisioning but it's hard to see how the ecosystem they want actually comes about. hasn't publicly launched yet

subvert's goals are admirable but they also haven't publicly launched yet and their planned business model of relying on optional tips at checkout to cover platform fees seems very risky. they seem willing to reconsider things like that if it proves unviable though, i hope things will work out for them

Any thoughts on https://mirlo.space?

A couple more:
nina: https://www.ninaprotocol.com
and upcoming, Chora: https://www.chora.live

nina is total nonsense blockchain ponzi scheme economics

hadn’t looked into it much. filling that one under the “dud” column

Demi-related but I just got some PR ramble about this thing called Coda:

https://codamusic.me/

More in terms of streaming rather than direct sales but Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu is their endorsee etc etc.:

Using Coda Music, artists can engage with their fans directly by sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes content, promoting new releases, direct messaging, selling merchandise and more. The Coda Music FanDirect Program revolutionizes how artists connect with and earn from their fanbase. Coda Music is the first and only full-catalog streaming service that empowers fans to send $1 of their monthly subscription directly to an independent or qualifying artist of their choice. Fans are in control of where their money goes. Coda Music is proud to pay the highest per-stream rate in the industry, but also recognizes the major flaws in the per-stream model. That’s why they created an entirely new source of income with their “per-fan” payments, making them the only music streaming service that pays independent artists directly in addition to the standard per-stream revenue.

lol this thread doesn't come up in a search for "Bandcamp", very annoying

just saw my first ampwall release linked in the wild!

Did it rock

Anyway thread title edit may help?

New one in the mix, backed by Tim Quirk of Too Much Joy:

https://blog.zedge.net/introducing-tapedeck-a-music-service-that-pays-artists-what-they-want/

I'm sure there's more nuance in the piece, but that link is funny. "I'll take a million dollars per stream, please."

tApEdEcK

Sorry but I think I'd rather not make money from music than earn music-listening credits by watching ads, "redeeming partner offers", or "watching rewarded videos".

otmfm

Subvert‬
✧@subv✧✧✧.f✧‬
· 2d
Our platform is ready.

Our collectively-owned Bandcamp successor opens November 4.

Rolling out to co-op members first.

also, begging for a thread title edit to "alternate Bandcamp"

But that would make sense.

<3

I am only asking b/c when it's all one word like that "bandcamp" doesn't find this in search