Bandcamp initially introduced their vinyl pressing service back in 2019 to an extremely limited amount of artists as a pilot program. The program was essentially a Kickstarter-style pre-order that, when enough fans put in for a copy, Bandcamp would press and ship the vinyl. Now Bandcamp is rolling out the program to a much wider audience, beginning with 10,000 artists they've selected themselves.
According to a Bandcamp blog post, the design and pricing of the vinyl is up to artists.
"In 2019, we began rolling out the Bandcamp Vinyl Pressing Service to a small group of pilot artists. The service eliminates risk, since your fans’ orders—not you—finance the pressing.
"It eliminates hassle, since we coordinate production, ship the records to fans, fulfill digital, and handle customer support. It offers complete control, with the design and pricing up to you, and Bandcamp taking no ownership of the record. It maximizes your odds of success since we automatically notify your followers when you launch a campaign and they can easily use their saved credit card and shipping info.
"And most importantly, it works: Over the course of 50 successful pilot projects, we fine-tuned both the product and our production and fulfillment operations, and shipped 13,000 records to happy fans in 65 countries."
Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamond also recently announced the site will extend Bandcamp Fridays into 2021, with the events taking place from February to May. Read more about that here.
