Bandcamp Nixes Free Downloads, Adds Incentives To Sell

Bandcamp , a music website used by fledgling bands and vets like Sufjan Stevens to distribute mp3s and merchandise, is altering the way it handles downloads. Although artists with accounts on the site could previously offer their music for free, there will now be a small fee for every track given away. The point of all of this is to encourage Bandcamp users to reserve free downloads for promotional efforts and use the website as a way to actually sell their music.

Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamond elaborates: The idea is that if you’re selling through Bandcamp, you’ll probably never run out of free promo downloads, and if you’re using the site to distribute your music for free, there’s still a ....