Bandcamp has opened up its subscription option to all users of the platform.

The new function was first revealed in November before launching as an undercover beta earlier this year. The subscription option will allow artists to charge their fans an annual or monthly fee of any price.

Artists can give subscribed users access to their back catalogue and all future releases as well as providing subscriber-only access to music and merchandise. Bandcamp has also introduced a a subscriber-only social page, similar to a blog, designed to keep fans connected with artists throughout the creative process.

“Our own experience contributing to crowdfunded projects was that we were motivated by a desire to help an artist we loved, not by a wish for a t-shirt, signed plastic disc, or potpourri sachet,” reads a statement from Bandcamp. “Our hunch is that your biggest fans are less interested in funding studio time or mastering for just one album than they are in supporting you in a sustainable way.”

Bandcamp will take 17.9 percent of an artist’s subscription fee. That figure includes a 2.9 percent payment processing fee, with an additional $0.30 charge. If an artist has generated $5,000 or more, the company’s cut is reduced to 10 percent, plus processing fees.

Each month, FACT’s Miles Bowe picks out the Best of Bandcamp, unearthing the finest, freshest and no doubt weirdest releases the platform has to offer. [via Billboard]



