Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, musicians have earned over $5 million in commission-free sales of digital music, merch, livestream tickets, fan subscriptions, digital multimedia, and tip donations through their websites powered by hosting provider Bandzoogle, the company says.
The news follows April’s announcement that sales of music, merch and tickets through websites built using Bandzoogle’s platform had surpassed $60m.
Bandzoogle also says that nearly $500,000 of that $5m revenue came from digital music sales alone, from over 33,000 albums and over over 37,000 singles.
Additionally, through the platform’s recently rolled-out Tip Jar feature, fans have donated almost $200,000 to artists, leaving an average tip of over $42.
The platform’s fan subscription feature has seen high user growth, and some clients have recently joined Bandzoogle for that benefit alone.
Recently-added live streaming and video integration features that merge seamlessly with both the Tip Jar and fan subscription features have been keeping musicians connected to their fans. Live stream ticket sales alone have earned Bandzoogle members nearly another $200,000 since mid-April from over virtual 1,300 events.
For artists in the age of a pandemic, being able to make and maintain these connections is nothing short of crucial, and a moratorium on touring doesn’t need to halt their livelihoods. With this in mind, Bandzoogle is proactively working to build more and better tools to help musicians monetize their careers online.
“While much of the industry continues to focus on streaming revenues, in the DIY and direct-to-fan world, it’s about engaging with your biggest fans and giving them every opportunity to support your career.”
Dave Cool, Bandzoogle
Bandzoogle’s VP of Business Development Dave Cool, said: “Bandzoogle’s centralized features also lead fans to buy artists’ music and merchandise directly, the latter of which has netted nearly $4 million for artists since the onset of the pandemic.
“While much of the industry continues to focus on streaming revenues, in the DIY and direct-to-fan world, it’s about engaging with your biggest fans and giving them every opportunity to support your career.
“And we’re seeing that with our members. By allowing fans to support their careers directly, whether it’s buying music or merch, tickets to a livestream, or simply making a donation, the data shows how generous fans can be if given the option to do more than simply stream your music.” concludes Cool.Music Business Worldwide
