The news of Epic Games acquiring Bandcamp confused many, but worried others.
Bandcamp, best known as an online music distributor and lorded over as a hub for independent artists and labels, announced on Wednesday that they would be joining Epic Games in a blog post written by CEO Ethan Diamond. The price Epic Games paid for Bandcamp is currently unknown.
The blog post states that while they will be acquired by the creators of Fortnite, they will continue to operate ‘as a standalone marketplace and music community’, and artists will still have the ‘same control’ over how they offer their music.
However, the decision for the gaming company to purchase the music distributor has befuddled many, with most assuming the worst.
today’s epic/bandcamp news pic.twitter.com/g6R54mAWT8
— katherine morayati (@morayati) March 2, 2022
Bandcamp was the only platform I was comfortable buying music from because it seemed to really put artists first.
Now it’s owned by Epic Games, which is majority owned by Tencent, an evil megacorporation that’s slowly devouring the games industry.
Cool. https://t.co/ufYsvon7UQ
— Arlo (@ArloStuff) March 2, 2022
deeply sceptical of bandcamp’s sale to epic as well as the idea that a perfectly good – and presumably stable – product “has to grow” / “has to seek out exciting new avenues”. sometimes the most artist friendly thing is doing one thing well and with stability
— Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) March 2, 2022
honestly, this sucks. half the money i make off music comes from bandcamp, and even if things are fine for the next few months, this can only go in worse directions
— Mel Stone (@melstonemusic) March 2, 2022
I legit don’t know what to make of the epic buying bandcamp deal, but any corporation getting involved in an independent market is never a good sign. I’ll stay cautious and hope that bandcamp remains the only good marketplace out there with artists’ best intentions in mind
— lena ⭐ raine (@kuraine) March 2, 2022
I mean Epic games already had my data, but those of you who do buy music on Bandcamp and don’t play e.g. Arena on a Mac, I’d guess a whooooole lotta data was a big part of the appeal for Epic
— The Mountain Goats (@mountain_goats) March 2, 2022
Epic Games is acquiring Bandcamp and I think this is important. This is the direction Epic is headed in, you see it already with like the in-game radio station, and concerts.
This “metaverse” and anyone having their own platform is the future of Fortnite, not battle royale. pic.twitter.com/5TGA5Qw8vr
— InTheShade – Fortnite Leaks (@InTheShadeYT) March 2, 2022
Artists, listeners, and commentators alike all had something to say, that something in particular ultimately being negative and skeptical. It makes sense, considering most regular people are feeling somewhat suspect about the ongoing acquisitions happening in the games industry.
There’s this expectation that the video games industry is sacred, but the reality is that it’s in the business of making money, as are most industries. Considering Epic Games has been infusing music into Fortnite for quite a while now, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they were considering using this acquisition to further the potential of a ‘metaverse’-type project.
All I can say? Take the piss, mate.
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