Epic Games acquires music marketplace Bandcamp in surprise deal

Bandcamp, a music marketplace founded in 2008, joins Epic Games. This is stated in a message published on Wednesday. Bandcamp “will continue to operate as a standalone marketplace and music community,” wrote Ethan Diamond, co-founder and CEO of Bandcamp. Diamond will continue to lead the team, which will continue to focus on the “artists’ first revenue model.”

Epic Games, developer of Unreal Engine and Fortnite, at first glance, is an unlikely buyer of music distribution services. Diamond writes that the partnership will help Bandcamp “expand internationally and drive development forward,” citing everything from tech systems to streaming services.

Bandcamp is a notable market because, unlike competitors like Spotify, the profit margin is in favor of the artist; the musician retains “an average of 82% of each sale.” And Epic Games launched with a profit in favor of the developers. Following the success of Epic Games with Fortnite, the publisher worked with influencers and integrated artist promotion through in-game cosmetics and digital concerts. Epic has also invested a lot of money in in-game giveaways to help grow its audience.

Epic Games press release the developer shared that “Bandcamp will play a major role in Epic’s vision to build a marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more.”