Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

This topic was first shared by @cheriehu in the #general channel.

Well, it’s safe to say, nobody saw this one coming. Yesterday Epic Games (the blockbuster gaming studio behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine) announced that they are acquiring the much-loved independent music marketplace Bandcamp.

While the finer details of the acquisition are still a mystery, the companies have released notably different statements on their respective websites. While Bandcamp’s statement stresses continuity for fans and creators, assuring “the products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere,” Epic’s statement hints at building “a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more” (which makes sense, given their acquisition of artist community ArtStation earlier this year).

Death of the last independent music platform?

Whatever the press releases say, it is more than a little depressing to see one of the last independent music platforms fall prey to consolidation. As a tweet by journalist Will Pritchard points out, this is a move by Chinese tech behemoth Tencent to own even more of the music industry’s most significant companies than it did this time last year:

Bandcamp has spent the last 14 years cultivating its reputation as an artist-friendly music platform — a perception significantly bolstered during the pandemic, as rising concern over artist income led to increased awareness and goodwill around initiatives like Bandcamp Fridays (a regular event where Bandcamp waives the sales fees they’d usually charge to artists). Despite both companies’ assurances, it’s difficult to imagine this initiative continuing  once Bandcamp has been subsumed by a company known for its brutal work culture and sometimes consumer-unfriendly corporate strategy.

“The future of an internet that rewards more Bandcamps feels so so different from an internet that rewards more Fortnites” – @cheriehu

Epic + Bandcamp vs Apple?

Even more cynically, many of us speculated that the Bandcamp acquisition might be just another front in Epic’s ongoing battle with Apple:

“I suspect it’s largely because it contributes to Epic’s anti-Apple narrative. As others have pointed out elsewhere, if Bandcamp could sell in-app without paying so much to Apple and Android, it could make a lot more money. So it is more grist to that argument for Epic.” – @Mr Trick

Both Bandcamp and Epic have undoubtedly had their margins dented by the exorbitant cut Apple takes on in-app purchases. While Bandcamp has devised a workaround specifically to allow them to dodge Apple’s 30% cut, Epic recently launched a high-profile court case against Apple’s App Store rules. When viewed from an anti-Apple angle, this acquisition begins to make a strange sort of sense:

“Epic buying Bandcamp is not about NFTs. Epic and Bandcamp have a common beef with Apple taking a 30% cut of in-app purchases. As “The Corporation That Makes Fortnite,” Epic hasn’t been able sway Apple in the court of public opinion… But by adding Bandcamp, “The Beloved Small Business That Supports Independent Musicians,” the David vs Goliath narrative becomes more relatable

Tldr; Bandcamp can’t afford a Big Legal Team. Epic’s Big Legal Team can’t build a case against Apple on games alone. Epic buys Bandcamp so its Big Legal Team can enlarge the scope of the case to music and games” – @C.Y Lee (@cxy) cardioid.fm

The M*taverse/Web3 can fix this

While neither Epic nor Bandcamp’s press releases make any direct reference to Web3 or the metaverse, it was the first thing on many of our minds:

“cries in mEtAvErSe” – @aflores

“slaps roof of epic games
This bad boy can fit so much metaverse in it” – @danfowler

While Epic has already experimented with in-game concerts, Bandcamp is primarily associated with more indie and grassroots artists, with loyal fanbases who are perhaps more willing than the average consumer to invest in the artists they love. Even if these fans are not necessarily into the idea of the metaverse or Web3, this predisposition makes them the ideal target market for digital content and experiences.

Many of us interpreted this instance of industry consolidation as another strong argument for decentralized ownership, and pondered the possibilities presented by a platform “exiting to community” instead of a traditional merger or acquisition. While it’s unlikely that this instance alone will drive artists and fans directly to Web3 platforms, this latest disillusionment might prompt more discerning fans to think more critically about the platforms they subscribe to and how they consume music:

“The hope is that web3 brings about a ton of new options for community owned platforms, and that maybe this leads to more awareness among consumers, who might choose to move over to this model of ownership going forward.” – @brodconley

There’s certainly much to consider— so much so that we’ve decided to schedule another thoughtful rant tomorrow, March 4, at 1PM EST (after our usual Friday town hall), which will hopefully give us all a chance to air our views. You can RSVP here — we hope to see many of you there!

Further reading: 15 ways to incorporate gaming into your music strategy(#16 is ‘be acquired by Epic’)

Is Web3 being used as corporate “innovation-washing”?

This topic was first shared by @ObieFernandez in the #web3 channel.

As the corporate world scrambles to make its mark in the wild west of Web3, it’s no secret that finding crypto talent has become an increasingly competitivebusiness. This week, we discussed a handful of high profile, Web3-related hires in the music world.

First up, Universal Music Group has announced Richard Cusick, a VP with a distinguished background in entertainment and advertising (including being named an inventor in two advertising-related patents), will take the helm of the major label’s Web3 business. According to Universal, Cusick will build “innovative products and experiences across E-Commerce, Web3.0 and direct artist and fan-focused initiatives.”

The other majors have already set a precedent for investing in Web3 talent. Arguably, Warner has made the most ground, having already struck up partnerships with NFT platform Blockparty and Quincy Jones-backed NFT marketplace OneOf. With a baffling collaboration with children’s media brand Pinkfong, Sony has also entered the fray to launch the first Baby Shark NFT collection. And don’t forget about the DSPs — Spotify has also been hustling for Web3 talent.

Despite the wave of new hires, many of us expressed reservations on the seriousness of these engagements with Web3. As @danfowler notes, Cusick doesn’t appear to have had any hands-on experience in Web3. His official job title is “Chief Product Officer, Global E-Commerce,” which suggests that Sony has lumped their Web3 strategy together with other forms of e-commerce.

As we covered extensively in Season 1 of $STREAM, success in Web 2.0 looks very different from success in Web3. Many of the best practices associated with Web3 (daily Twitter spaces, Discord AMAs, one-on-one onboarding calls) aren’t scalable in the same way as traditional e-commerce — especially not right now, with the barriers to entry still relatively high (both financially and technically) for many Web3 projects and platforms.

In fact (as @danfowler also noted), it isn’t overly cynical to assume that at least some of these projects fall under “innovation-washing” — a term used when organizations rebrand business as usual (or projects/partnerships doomed to fail) as innovation. At its worst, corporate innovation can be little more than an extension of the company’s PR department:

“Said it before and I’ll say it again: I think the majors are basically running press to show they’re “in” on Web3 and not getting left behind. It’s all about the optics.” – @Mr Trick

Further reading: Behind the headlines — analyzing web3 onboarding strategies for music fans