Epic Games to acquire music platform Bandcamp

Epic Games is acquiring Bandcamp, the independent music store Bandcamp. The companies announced the news today, saying Bandcamp would "continue to operate as an independent marketplace and music community," but would use Epic's resources to expand internationally and continue to add new features.

An Epic blog post says that Bandcamp will play "an important role in Epic's vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more." An announcement from Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond, meanwhile, emphasized that the core deal for artists won't change in the near future. "The products and services you depend on aren't going anywhere, we'll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model," Diamond wrote. "You'll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site."

But Diamond says that Epic and Bandcamp will work together "behind the scenes" to drive the development of payment and merchandising options, mobile apps and live streaming, among other features.

Epic is primarily known as the publisher of Fortnite and the creator of the Unreal game engine but has previously made non-game acquisitions with group video chat Houseparty. The company shut down Houseparty last year after acquiring it in 2019, and its team has apparently engaged in a larger push to expand Epic's social features. Bandcamp, however, has a much larger fanbase and clearer economic model than Houseparty - it's much-loved as an alternative to streaming platforms like Spotify, offering less control and a smaller revenue share for most fans and artists.

Epic describes Bandcamp as committed to "fair and open platforms," a subtle nod to its ongoing fight with mobile store operators Apple and Google, whose payment models are described as threatening as it expands its game offerings to a larger social "metaverse." Music has been a key part of that expansion so far, mostly in the form of performances within Fortnite. Now, the Bandcamp acquisition is giving it a broader foothold in the medium.