It’s likely that fans of independent music always just thought of online music-steaming/sales/promotion service Bandcamp as an easy outlet to support some of our favorite indie artists and labels. But apparently there’s been a bit more to the story than our blissful consumer convenience, which may explain why some of those very same artists and labels had previously been freaking out and leaving clumps of hair on the ground in response to what they saw as a frustrating inflexibility when it came to selling their music internationally. Basically, the prior situation involved a limited ability to manipulate both shipping origins and destinations, which made it very difficult both logistically and financially for artists to actually sell their music on a global scale.
In response to that potential (and in some cases, very actual) hindrance, an announcement was made a few days ago detailing a couple of worthwhile Bandcamp improvements to the seller/shipper side. First: sellers can now add “any number of countries” as shipping destinations, set shipping rates for each one, and keep those settings as defaults for particular items. Second: as previously alluded to, sellers can now set up multiple shipping origins from their Profile page, which could potentially have a significant effect on the sales tax that a seller ultimately includes on the order.
These may be irrelevant changes for some and invaluable updates for others. But either way, it’s about time that the service recognized its increasingly global customer base; some of these labels have goods stashed away in various international locales, like pieces of a fabled gold scepter filled with chocolate in the middle. So, way to at least keep a decent bead on things and act accordingly, Bandcamp. You’re al-right.
More about: Bandcamp
