There’s been a steady stream of downloads of Søren Bebe Trio’s 2010 album, From Out Here, since Søren announced in his September newsletter that the entire record was being made available free on the Bandcamp website to all his future newsletter subscribers.
But what is Bandcamp? “It’s basically a way for independent artists like me to share their music” explains Søren. “The tracks I’ve uploaded to my micro-site at Bandcamp can be streamed for free. You can also buy the albums the songs come from as downloads or, if you prefer the real thing, you can purchase an actual CD.”
“It’s a pretty cool site. The downloads are not only available as MP3s, but also in very high quality formats like WAV and AIFF – real audiophile stuff, in fact.” After downloading, you can still stream the music using Bandcamp’s own app (which is a good one), or you can simply import them to your favourite audio player, like iTunes or Windows Media Player.
Another aspect to Bandcamp is that fans can purchase what’s called ‘VIP membership’ for the artists featured on the site. In Søren’s case, the annual membership fee is US$27. “What that gives you is 12 months’ unlimited access to all my existing albums – nine of them! – plus the new music I put on Bandcamp in the future. You also get 20% off all the Søren Bebe CDs on the site.”
“What’s more, I’ll be putting on special VIP-only downloads and other items, including unique live footage and selected CDs with me as a sideman. For example, I just uploaded two great albums I made with the Danish guitarist Christian Frank some years ago.”
“If you’re not a VIP member, paying separately for three album downloads or purchasing just two CDs could cost significantly more than $27” Søren adds. “So, if you do the maths, VIP membership is a really great deal!”
Above all, VIP membership gives fans the satisfaction of knowing that they’re supporting Søren’s work in a meaningful, longer-term way.
“Quite simply, the more people who take out membership, the more I’m able to invest in making new music, both now and in the future. Isn’t that a classic win-win outcome for everybody?!”
For more information, visit the Søren Bebe Bandcamp site here.
Date posted: 23 October 2015