I was going to purchase some Stereolab FLAC recordings from Bandcamp when I noticed that due to tax being added they were cheaper on the artists own site (duophonic) were cheaper as I wasn’t charged tax.
I wondered if this is typical?
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Yes I think Bandcamp were a victim of their own success. When you put this sort of banner on your website the taxman is going to get a bit excited.
Fans have paid artists $491 million using Bandcamp, and $14.3 million in the last 30 days alone.
Most stuff is cheaper on Qobuz and usually it’s that tax margin that is the difference.
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Thank you. I don’t have a Quobuz account but will note it for the future.
I think you need to have a look round Bandcamp, Qobuz, Boomkat, Bleep, Juno, 7digital, HD Tracks and Hi Res Audio are all worth researching when buying flac.
It’s all a question of how much you want to support the artist, the taxman or your pocket.
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I am happy to pay taxes as these provide the funding for the NHS, Education, social care, roads and many other essential services. Ideally more would be raised by income based taxes, capital gains and corporate taxtion than regressive sales taxes but that is another can or worms.
Hi @AndyP, which of those would reward the artist the most, Bandcamp i’m guessing?
And on Bandcamp, is the FLAC file 16/44.1?
I can’t remember and it isn’t explicit on the site.
I think bandcamp will support the artist the most. Yes, flac is 16/44.1. I don’t think they offer higher res, but most of their offerings aren’t mainstream, and much of it not available on the other streaming services.
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Well that is the lottery, yes at a minimum it is 16/44.1 but more recently it ‘could’ be Hi Res but it is very difficult, sometimes there is a hint, but more often it is impossible to tell. If it is Hi Res then it’s a winner as it’s the same price at which everyone else is selling the 16 bit.
And yes I believe bandcamp is best for the artist. Although, the taxman does seem to get his share on the other sites - it’s built into the price. I can only assume that bandcamp does it this way since it’s a global platform with buyers accessing from different tax locations.
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Can’t say I have noticed Qobuz being cheaper than Bandcamp even with vat added. Qobuz are overpriced especially for hires unless you have a sublime sub.
Love Stereolab.
downloaded Brokeback (members of Tortoise) today,
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On the 1st May, Bandcamp will waive their 10% margin for the day, so get in there and support your artists!
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@charlesphoto - Bandcamp does do hi-res, it depends what the artist/label uploads. most of the stuff I’ve uploaded goes is 24/96, but I think they can do up to 24/192.
Generally you get a choice of various sorts of MP3, plus 16/44, and, depending on what’s uploaded, 16/48, 24/48, 24/96 or 24/192.
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Haven’t been into them that long but what a massive back catalogue. Impressed that the first track on the first record starts with Grobschnitt’s Am Olberg. A track I first heard in 1973.
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Been a fan since I heard Peng! when it was released, still have that original on Vinyl. They got better an better as they honed their sound and style. Laetitia Sadier on her own is worth a go to.
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Yes I like the softer fluffy stuff but I also like a bit of raw edge which is why I enjoy the earlier material. It also explains why I like Moebius as well as Roedelius and Dinger as well as Rother.
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I love Bandcamp and think it’s a great site, supporting artists and new music. Physical formats, download, stream it’s all covered.
My only slight bugbear, if one signs up for a “Fan Account” is the social media aspect.
I just want to explore, listen and buy music, but the site permits unsolicited “following” by other users which I really dont like, you’re not even given a choice whether or not to accept a “follower”.
I have had to email Bandcamp on a few occasions re privacy and to ask them to remove “followers” even when my music collection is “hidden”
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Yes, I think that’s correct
Bandcamp are waiving their revenue share this coming Friday to support artists. This is Friday 1st May PDT
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Just one comment re Bandcamp giving the most royalties to the artist. I do no believe this is the case in my case as the site I used was the artists own one.