Epic Games is buying the indie music platform Bandcamp.
According to the company's official announcement, while Epic Games will indeed be folding Bandcamp into its portfolio, Bandcamp will continue as its own entity post-acquisition.
Epic Games' blog post detailed the company's stance on the matter, stating Bandcamp would play "an important role in Epic's vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosysetm for content, technology, games, art, music, and more." With that in mind, Bandcamp is set to continue operating as a "standalone marketplace and music community" while leaning on Epic Games' resources to expand and add new features.
Bandcamp is joining Epic Games! Read more here: https://t.co/dvLEhURZYG pic.twitter.com/4t1MRvugmGMarch 2, 2022
On the artist side, Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamond penned an announcement of his own to quell fears that the platform's core services would be changing. He confirmed that they "aren't going anywhere," assuring users that instead the team will "continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model."
“You’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site,” Diamond claimed.
Instead, the acquisition will purportedly materialize as more of a partnership where both brands will work together. The plan is to utilize both companies' strengths to bolster further development, including adding new payment options, livestreaming, mobile apps, merch, and additional features.
In return, Epic Games receives the opportunity to further expand its role in the music space. Fortnite, easily Epic Games' biggest title, has been dabbling in additional musical elements for some now. With Bandcamp under its wing, we'll likely be seeing a logical evolution of that push soon enough.
New to Epic Games' Fortnite? Check out our how to play Forntite guide to get started.
