Epic Games acquires music marketplace Bandcamp in surprise deal

An announcement was made on Wednesday by Epic Games that Bandcamp, an online music platform, will be joining Epic Games. Bandcamp will “keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community,” wrote Ethan Diamond, Bandcamp co-founder and CEO. Diamond will continue to lead the team, which will continue to focus on an “artists-first revenue model.”

Epic Games is behind Unreal Engine. FortniteAt first glance, it seems unlikely that a company would buy a music distribution platform. Diamond writes that the partnership will help Bandcamp “expand internationally and push development forward,” citing everything from technical systems to live streaming services.

Bandcamp is a notable marketplace because, unlike competitors like Spotify, the profit margin is in the artist’s favor; a musician keeps “an average of 82% of every sale.” And Epic Games launched with profit margins favoring developers. Following Epic Games’ success with Fortnite,The publisher worked closely with influential people and promoted artists via in-game cosmetics, digital concerts and other means. Epic also offers free games in order to grow its audience.

In a press release from Epic Games, the developer shared 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.”