Bought a bunch of stuff via bandcamp yesterday.
Next to the already steep shipping costs they now also charge taxes for anything outside of my own country. Even for the new vinyl album of Bert Dockx from Belgium I had to pay 8 Euros for shipping & handling plus 6,55 Euros for taxes.
bloody hell wtf is up with that!


I also bought three vinyls of GGGOLDDD, the new EP + Shirt package, and their two older albums. Total shipping: 7 Euro, and no taxes :)
And pre-ordered the new Claire M Singer, on CD because there is no vinyl offered, with 5 pounds shipping and 3 pounds or taxes

"Drums & Octobass" by Keiji Haino & Guro Moe, coming up in December:
https://conradsound.bandcamp.com/album/drums-octobass

What a mess Bandcamp seems to be with the Songtradr's acquisition.

Oh shit. What changes have you noticed?

They've laid off half of the staff; while the actual "hosting of independent music" thing should still stay the same it's likely going to demolish the editorials and blog coverage on the site.
Also, they plan on making it opt-in on artists to license their songs, so...things'll get rough. Fucking capitalists, man.

Original source (in Dutch):
https://subjectivisten.nl/het-schadu...-week-42-2023/


https://ititanita.bandcamp.com/album/mouche


Highly recommended.

By the by, I'm following some of y'all on Bandcamp and even though I rock there's a couple of ya that ain't following me back. You're Bandcamp Meanies! :D

pitchfork.com - is bandcamp as we know it over?
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/is-ba...-know-it-over/

Damon Krakowski (Damon & Naomi, Galaxie 500, but you already knew that) on this goddamn bitch of an unsatisfactory situation:

After Bandcamp, What?

I know, but to us Bandcampeoples this could be a major gut-punch. At this point I can't imagine living without Bandcamp and Discogs. Women? Drugs? Pffft. (Alright, I do need the drugs, but I have prescriptions, OK? :cool::D)

well that was exactly my point. it was too good to last, its forever promises were hollow, and it was in fact designed to work at minimal (or negative?) profit to attract a mass of people that could be later "monetized."

the original idea without subsequent shittification was in theory good for platform users, but for long-term keeping with some sort of "values" the operation would need to be organized as something like a co-op rather than a for-profit business looking to maximize shareholder value.

the scorpion and the frog, and all that.


eta: see the now-classic youtube https://youtu.be/hpAMbpQ8J7g to understand the business model. or previous model, in any case.

==

eta for alternatives here you go: https://resonate.coop/coop/

of course without the profit motive it might never be as glossy as the sort of thing that drives consumers into purchasing paroxysms and spending orgies, but co-ops do important work (that is, when they work... because they don't always work), so there you go, try it maybe.

ps [later] looks ded :/

try again

https://musically.com/2023/10/23/ind...y-end-of-2023/

ded. try again.

-

life is hard, and ease comes at a price :(

Co-ops are still subject to the same market forces. The model might delay the shitification, but ultimately market imperatives will have their way. 'Efficiency measures' will have to be taken. There will be necessary 'streamlining'.

yes but not necessarily all the way.

i've been a member of a several co-ops wherever i've lived and they manage to balance market pressures while providing good value to their members, while simultaneously practicing democratic management and labor practices, engaging community, supporting neighbors, etc. not always the cheapest deal in town, but often the least predatory one. sometimes even revolutionary.

here 4 maryland food co-ops
the radical one https://glut.org/ check out theirnhistory and about pages
the bougie one https://tpss.coop/
the little one by the river https://www.bethesdacoop.org/ nice after a bike ride or canoe trip or hike ahh those pies...

there are a bunch of other food co-ops around, and they are neither walmart nor whole foods.


anyway it's definitely not and easy feat and it requires members and workers and directors who can keep multiple objectives in play besides profit. sometimes, some co-ops do sell out or get taken over.

rei is a co-op! although it doesn't feel like one: https://www.motherjones.com/politics...union-busting/

--

however in the case of my current bank, which is a credit union (a co-op), i absolutely get the best deal money-wise, in part i think because my deposits don't have to pay for a ceo salary of $30000000 or other stupid nonsense so they don't load me with fees like the other rapacious fucks.

so there's some hope for co-ops--i'm not a total cynic lol. and i enjoy the dilectical process.

Oh, so your pants are fancy too! ;)

Didn't you live in New Mexico or summat? :confused:

it's called bethesda but it's really in cabin john by the canal. same county, and just a couple of miles away but it's like another world

it's a bit more rural looking still pricey resl estate im sure but have you ever gone up and down the canal towpath? runs from georgetown to great falls. actually futher but i've never been further. a very democratic towpath i should say.

mira: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_Canal

Hmm, I don't think I have. Dude, we're talking literally 30 years ago...

the canal is from the 19 century xD

anyway, go gather your musical friends and start a music co-op

if not you, who? if not now, when?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMuPYOxC4rg

Probably not what you were thinking about, though. :)