Bandcamp wants some of that MySpace dollar

Artists and musicians are joining Bandcamp at a rate of around 25,000 every month, according to the site’s founder, Ethan Diamond.

A recent Bloomberg article, reported that sales via Bandcamp topped $7.3 million during the past 12 months, a drop in the ocean when compared to the digital music industry’s estimated $4.6 billion global worth, but a figure not to be sniffed at, nonetheless.

One wonders whether MySpace’s decline really has left artists at a loss, now that most of them have jumped ship and embraced Facebook/Twitter with open arms. However, Bandcamp’s primary draw – the ability for musicians to peddle their wares at prices decided by themselves (with a 10-15% commission going the way of Bandcamp and Paypal transactional charges, of course) – should keep the site’s acquisition figures moving in an upward curve.

A few noteworthy artists to harness Bandcamp successfully include Sufjan Stevens, who sold 10,000 albums in one weekend, and Amanda Palmer from The Dresden Dolls who, armed with a ukulele, released an album of Radiohead covers that generated a revenue of $15,000 within just three minutes of its availability.