Bandcamp Friday > Black Friday

How often can you be sure that so much of your money will reach the people who made what you’re buying?

On Friday, Bandcamp will pass along its usual cut of sales to artists and labels for a 24-hour period—the ninth time it’s done so since March, when COVID-19 destroyed live music. This “Bandcamp Friday” follows Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday, all of them highly publicized drives to get people to part with their money.

That kind of push can feel fraught in the face of a pandemic that has killed more than a quarter million Americans, shuttered entire industries, and left millions on the brink of destitution, even when we’re talking about donations to unambiguously good causes. And it’s pretty inexcusable to pressure anybody to buy a cheap TV from a company whose profits will jack up the already obscene fortune of a billionaire who’s become the planet’s richest person on the backs of underpaid and overtaxed workers.

One thing I appreciate about Bandcamp Friday is that it encourages listeners to think about how or if their money gets to the musicians whose work they love. (Bandcamp normally takes 10 or 15 percent off the top, and for artists relying on the platform to replace lost touring income, even that can sting.) So every time Bandcamp has waived its cut, I’ve taken the time to compile a list of music the Reader has covered that’s available through the site.

Below are links to every such album and EP we’ve written about since the previous Bandcamp Friday. If for some reason the dozens of releases below aren’t enough, I recommend going through our roundups from March, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November. Music is a gift at any time of year, and I hope you find some that brings you joy this season.