Bandcamp Fridays To Return For 2022

Bandcamp has announced the return of its “Bandcamp Fridays” for 2022. The online music retailer started its program in March 2020 for a special “first Friday of the month” promotional day waiving their revenue share of help artists offset funds lost due to the pandemic.

Continuing onto its second year, Bandcamp Fridays are scheduled for February 4th, March 4th, April 1st, and May 6th for a full 24-hours on Pacific time.

“On the first Friday of the month since March of 2020, we’ve waived our revenue share to help support the many artists who have seen their livelihoods disrupted by the pandemic,” Bandcamp wrote. “Over the course of 17 days, fans paid artists and labels more than $70 million dollars, helping cover rents, mortgages, groceries, medications, and much more. If you’re among the nearly 800,000 fans who participated, thank you.”

Although large-scale live events began to pick back up in 2021, Bandcamp continued its revenue on the first Friday of every month to continue their direct support for artists. Additionally, Bandcamp has highlighted the fan aspect of the promotion, acknowledging how much purchases on Bandcamp directly support artists.

Bandcamp CEO and Founder Ethan Diamond issued his own statement on the fundraising initiative:

“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact all of us, and artists have been hit especially hard as tours and shows are canceled for the foreseeable future. With such a major revenue stream drying up almost entirely, finding ways to continue supporting artists in the coming months is an urgent priority for anyone who cares about music and the artists who create it.

On March 20, 2020, we waived our revenue share in order to help artists and labels impacted by the pandemic. The Bandcamp community showed up in a massive way, spending $4.3 million on music and merch—15x the amount of a normal Friday— helping artists cover rents, mortgages, groceries, medications, and so much more. It was truly inspiring.

On May 1, 2020, we did it again and fans paid artists $7.1 million – amazing!

On June 5, 2020, fans paid artists $4.8 million, and so many artists and labels used the day to donate to organizations fighting for racial equity that we had to put together two separate posts (here and here) to list them all.

But the pandemic and its impact on the music community aren’t over, so on July 3, we’re waiving our revenue share for all sales on Bandcamp, from midnight to midnight PDT. Check isitbandcampfriday.com for timezone demystification.

Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come, so we’re also sharing some ideas below on how fans can support the artists they love and how artists can give fans new, creative ways to provide support.

It may sound simple, but the best way to help artists is with your direct financial support, and we hope you’ll join us as we work to support artists in this challenging time.”

For more information, visit the Bandcamp Friday website.