Project Bandcamp

[Cedille]

Very interesting, and useful post. I'm aware lots of soundtracks from the site have been added to VGMdb lately but never figured out what Bandcamp was.

I know nothing about the Western VGM scene, but the possible biggest obstacle about Bandcamp for Eastern composers who want to sell soundtracks are they often don't have rights for their music to begin with (excepting some composers like Sugiyama, Mitsuda) and even today's leading freelance composers have to 'sell' their stuff to the game companies... I see less problem with doujin/indies/amateur composers, but at the same time I have to wonder how much outside of Japan ever want to pay money to their music.

[Salabounder]

Originally Posted by Cedille

but at the same time I have to wonder how much outside of Japan ever want to pay money to their music.

Most people outside of Japan can't buy video game music, not easily anyway. Remember ten years ago before digital music distribution became a viable business, everyone used file-sharing sites to get music illegally. Once a system was in place where people could buy music at a reasonable price, piracy dropped dramatically.

You would be surprised. There are actually artists on Bandcamp who offer their music for free, on a pay what you want basis, and more often than not people do. Even if a price is set, but the artists leaves an option for a customer to pay more, some will. For example, Danny Baranowsky sells The Binding of Issac for just $0.99 and people have paid more than that minimum for the soundtrack.

The problem with video game music and piracy is that it isn't easily available. The average video game soundtrack from Japan falls between $35 - $60, and that's not even including shipping. Most people don't want to be thieves, but if people can't easily purchase the music they want to listen to they'll start looking for torrents and illegal downloads. Aside from that, if an album is rare or out-of-print, none of that money goes to the artists, just the second-hand party selling the item for profit. Generally people like knowing that their money is actually going to support the artists, and that does a lot to help drive sales.

Originally Posted by Cedille

for Eastern composers who want to sell soundtracks are they often don't have rights for their music

If the game company has the right to the music, then they could sell it themselves. This shouldn't be any different from when an album is released on CD.