Bands—and particularly indie bands—increasingly rely on touring to make a buck, or just scrape by, these days. So the coronavirus pandemic has hit them particularly hard, as tons of tours and festivals (like SXSW) have either been postponed or canceled altogether. What's more, record stores are shuttering left and right for the foreseeable future, and even Record Store Day was pushed back to late June. But this morning we were tipped off to a tiny bit of good news on how to support artists who need it by one of the best rock outfits going, Twin Peaks (shot above for Time Out Chicago):
TMRW ONLY @Bandcamp is waiving their cut of all sales made via their site. Our supportive label @GrandJuryMusic is also waiving their cut of those sales. Making tmrw the best day to support us directly and effectively. They're giving us a great opportunity to stay on our feet.
— Twin Peaks Dudes 🌟 (@TwinPeaksDudes) March 19, 2020
That's right: On Friday, March 20, for a glorious 24 hours, the streaming and retail platform Bandcamp will waive its cut of sales to put more money in artists' pockets. Here's the official decree from the horse's mouth: "To raise even more awareness around the pandemic’s impact on musicians everywhere, we’re waiving our revenue share on sales this Friday, March 20 (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much needed money directly into artists’ pockets."
So be sure to nab some vinyl, CDs, merch and digital downloads during #BandcampFriday to throw much-needed moolah at the bands you love. And speaking of, um, music, be sure to also help keep our cities' vital record stores afloat (these are our favorites in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles) by buying gift certificates or ordering pickups or deliveries.