Bandcamp sells to Epic: can a video game company save independent music?

A hero site generating better revenue for creators has sold out, say some musicians, while others hail the potential to reach new audiences

Musos and gamers were left scratching their heads last Wednesday as Bandcamp, the online record store hailed by independent artists as a bankable alternative to the razor-thin royalties of streaming, announced its acquisition by Epic Games, makers of the online gaming phenomenon Fortnite.

Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamond framed the deal as a boon for artists, saying that the two US companies shared a vision of building the most open, artist-friendly ecosystem in the world". A blogpost from Epic underlined the need for fair and open platforms" to enable creators to keep the majority of their hard-earned money".