Now that Bandcamp has had huge layoffs, what about an opensource, Fediverse-friendly replacement? What can a FOSS product bring to the community and do better than Bandcamp?

  • Discoverability?
  • Broader selection of payments platforms? Direct transfer to avoid processors? (I’m ignorant about the processing system, plus international considerations)
  • Ease of spinning up (SaaS?)
  • Content deliverability (on the fly transcode from sourced FLAC or WAVs? Rich video/multi track audio?)
  • ttmrichter@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    2 years ago

    The issue is “discoverability”. Producers “taking care of online distribution themselves” are dealing with, you know, the very problem that they are not discoverable. Unless they’re on a third-party service, of course.

    A commercial centralized discoverability service would enshittify REALLY quickly because of the profit motive. First they’d make everything nice for both listers and consumers. Make themselves indispensable to listers. Then lock the listers into an abusive relationship with no viable means out. (Kind of like bandcamp, come to think of it!) And once they’ve squeezed every last ounce out of the listers, the consumers get the screws next since there’s no viable option for them to escape to.

    A non-profit foundation has no profit motive (by definition) so has no incentive whatsoever to enshittify.

      • ttmrichter@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        2 years ago

        The. Advantage. Is. Discoverability.

        If you can’t figure out from there what the issue is, you’re on your own Sparky. Maybe talk to an artist struggling with the current system and tell them they just have to “take care of it themselves”. I’d advise not saying it in person, though, or you’ll wind up getting … ah … bruised. Slightly. Ever so slightly.