Bandcamp’s “current financials” are a direct result of Epic buying a thing it didn’t need or know how to run and then, predictably, running it into the ground. Bandcamp was doing just fine before Epic came along
" Which brings us to another question: Why would Epic want to absorb a platform whose entire identity is built around independence? For a few reasons. The biggest is that Bandcamp is the exact product Epic has been trying to build since launching the Epic Games Store in 2018—a widely adopted, creator-friendly retail platform with a fervent user base and vast reserves of goodwill. The Epic Games Store has struggled to compete with more established marketplaces run by Sony, Microsoft, and fellow developer-turned-platform Valve, whose Steam Store represents the gold standard of digital retail in PC gaming. The store has also been plagued by clunky digital rights management and a buggy interface, and their tactic of luring developers with exclusive deals has largely backfired, garnering ill will and accusations of bribery from gamers. Bandcamp, with its ease of use and patina of goodwill, is everything the Epic Games Store is not.
Epic is also one of the major players in the early iterations of the metaverse, a broad concept that for now refers to virtual spaces in which users interact with each other: playing games, telling stories, watching concerts—and, most importantly, buying things. Epic has already hosted virtual shows and screenings through its Fortnite platform, and regularly licenses music from artists for events and promotions. Acquiring Bandcamp’s platform gives them direct access to those artists, and potentially a frictionless way to license music for their metaverse properties.
As far as tech overlords go, you could do much worse than an acquisition by Epic, whose founder seems to espouse the same principles that came to define Bandcamp. For all its flaws, the Epic Games Store takes only 12 percent commission from developers. And Sweeney has been vocal about the monopolistic practices of Apple and Google’s software marketplaces, which, he argues, offer minimal services for their 30 percent commission, stifle competition, and consolidate too much power with the two companies that dominate the mobile software market. When Epic tried to skirt Apple’s rules requiring all in-app payments to be routed through their own payments system, Apple booted Fortnite from the App Store and threatened to terminate Epic’s developer accounts. Epic sued, and while the judge ruled in favor of Apple on nine of 10 counts, determining it was not a monopoly, they also found that Apple had violated California’s unfair competition law by preventing developers from informing users of other payment systems within their apps.
Beyond the lawsuits, Epic’s willingness to challenge the big boys has benefited everyone. Since the Epic Games Store opened, the rival Steam Store has lowered their commission, and a few months after the Epic suit was filed, Apple announced it would accept applications from developers making $1 million or less to be considered for a lower commission rate."
UPDATE: turns out you could actually do worse than having Epic as your corporate overlord
. it always is.