In contemporary America, There are debatably too many options for consumers. So many different types of bread, plenty of options when it comes to IT Support, hundreds of games that all have the same plot, hundreds of Movie re-hashes.. I could go on for forever. When it comes to music consumption, the world has sadly left the world of the LP. Here we are, in a world of Spotify and 'work-a-likes', combating the usual iTunes and Amazon Music types, with a little Pandora trying to jump in the boxing ring too. What could possibly happen next to the billion dollar industry?
*Note: This turns into ranting, and not so much an educative statement.
I debate, Bandcamp. When it comes to listening to new music, there is no effective way to find it anymore it seems. When you go to iTunes, all you see are banners of already well known artists and cheap deals for good oldies. When you enter the realm of Spotify, you see not artists, or their collective works, you see playlists. Hundreds and hundreds of the cumulations created by either the Average Joe, or by the company itself. While this is an effective way to find music, it costs money. If you want to listen to what you want to listen to and find music that you are interested in, you need to cooperate with the powers that be. “Wait! I'm sure you were enjoying that, but we're gonna force you to listen to Nicki Minaj for a couple minutes now” is what non-subscribers get to experience.
With Bandcamp, you are greeting by a calm homepage, opening with their weekly podcast on top, warmly greeting you to the world of the new frontiers in music. If that's not your style to find something new, you can scroll down a bit more, to see the currently trending artists in each categorized genre. Not seeing what you want? Simple! Make a free account, and enter in your own terms for genre. You wanna hear something new from Wisconsin? Have at it! Want to hear so Afro-Punk? I'm sure it exists! Even better, on the website, you get unlimited streaming (via the band's Bandcamp page) before deciding if you want to support the artist. If you enjoy this character, you can buy one of their pieces for a good price, and listen to the whole work whenever, where-ever!
Another side of the experience of course, is the Social Networking. On this site, if you have made your account, you can follow other users and they can follow you, to track each other's orders and tastes, just to bring about a more expansive experience to this supposedly dying art.
Guys, the art isn't dying, it's just trying to evolve, and I think the only way to see a change for the better, and re-enter a world reminiscent of the evolution in the mid to early 1900's, is through services like Bandcamp.
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