'Fortnite' Developer Epic Games Acquires Bandcamp

Bandcamp will continue to operate as “a standalone marketplace and music community,” however.

Epic Games, the developer behind the battle royale game Fortnite, has officially announced its acquisition of music streaming and purchasing platform Bandcamp.

Both companies confirmed the news on separate blog posts, but did not disclose the terms and cost of the deal. Bandcamp CEO and co-founder Ethan Diamond also clarified that the acquisition will not change how the platform operates, stating that he will remain in his position and that Bandcamp will still be “a standalone marketplace and music community.” The involvement of Epic Games, however, will allow the platform to “expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.”

Meanwhile, Epic Games explained that the two companies are both focused on creating artist-friendly platforms that allows creators to keep most of their money. With the acquisitions, Bandcamp will “play an important role” in Epic Games’ journey to “build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more.”

“Bandcamp’s mission is to help spread the healing power of music by building a community where artists thrive through the direct support of their fans,” Diamond said in a statement. “In Epic, we’ve found a partner who believes as deeply as we do that the future of music, and art itself, depends on the creation of equitable and inclusive communities like the one our fans and artists have helped to build. We’re excited to work alongside the Epic team to accelerate the realization of our mission and pursue our shared goal of empowering more creators in a fair and open way.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Bandcamp team to Epic Games,” added Steve Allison, Vice President and General Manager, Store at Epic Games. “Bandcamp has built an incredible community and business where up and coming artists can succeed thanks to the direct support of their fans, with one of the best revenue models and terms in music. This aligns closely with Epic’s approach to supporting creators across all media and enabling them to connect directly with their fans.”

Elsewhere in music, Ye, Kendrick Lamar and Future are set to headline Rolling Loud Miami 2022.