Bandcamp

Bandcamp is a privately held company founded in 2007 by former Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmer Shawn Grunberger, together with programmers Joe Holt and Neal Tucker; providing an online music store launched in 2008, as well as a platform for artist promotion, that caters mainly to independent artists. Artists who use Bandcamp are provided with a customizable microsite where the music they create can be uploaded and shared. All tracks can be played for free on the website and users are most often provided with the option to purchase the album or a specific track at customizable prices, and sometimes are given the option to pay more than required for the album/track.

The site also allows for artists to offer free music downloads with the option to donate to the artist or to receive a free track or album by joining the artist’s email list. Other options include sending purchased music as a gift, viewing lyrics and saving individual songs or albums in a wish list. These options can be toggled by the artist depending on how they plan to price their music. The options provide smaller and independent artists with a free online presence for their music, while making the process of selling their music easier. Uploading music to Bandcamp is free, but the company takes a 15% cut of sales made from their website (in addition to payment processing fees), which drops to 10% after an artist's sales surpass $5000.