Re:Ask HN: How would you build a 1000 year Bandcamp?
by rchaud on Sunday March 13, 2022 @06:02PM
(#30666189)
Patronage ala Rockefeller. Putting everything at the mercy of the free market will only lead to getting eaten by the Goliaths of that sector. Amazon sold its first book in 1994 but didn't make a cent in profit until 2004.
And that was started by a DE Shaw banker with a $300k loan from mom and dad! What hope does an artistic, not overly commercial venture have in that world?
Bandcamp was never going to survive on its own with its incredibly limited selection of mostly niche artists. Hell, Apple Music couldn't survive on its own when it was called Beats Music.
How could it, when numerous indie distributors before them were eventually swallowed up by the behemoths? Independent Digital stores like eMusic and CDNow came and went in the 00s. Before them it was indie labels and specialty record shops, all eventually swallowed up by a bigger player once the landlord raised the rent.
And that was started by a DE Shaw banker with a $300k loan from mom and dad! What hope does an artistic, not overly commercial venture have in that world?
Bandcamp was never going to survive on its own with its incredibly limited selection of mostly niche artists. Hell, Apple Music couldn't survive on its own when it was called Beats Music.
How could it, when numerous indie distributors before them were eventually swallowed up by the behemoths? Independent Digital stores like eMusic and CDNow came and went in the 00s. Before them it was indie labels and specialty record shops, all eventually swallowed up by a bigger player once the landlord raised the rent.