Bandzoogle Paid Out $5M To Musicians Since Pandemic

By FYI Staff

Bandzoogle, Canada’s uber-successful all-in-one platform for musicians, reports having paid out $5-million in commission-free sales of digital music, merch, live-stream tickets, fan subscriptions, digital multimedia, and tip donations through their member websites since the pandemic started in March.

Nearly $2.5M of that revenue came from digital music sales from 33K albums and more than 37K singles. Through the recently rolled-out Tip Jar feature, fans have donated almost $200K to artists, leaving an average tip of $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 $200K since mid-April from over virtual 1,300 events.

One Bandzoogle member, Toronto-based Celtic rock band Enter the Haggis, was on the verge of releasing an album and embarking on tour when the pandemic hit. “We knew we had to pivot, so we got the idea of setting up live-stream listening parties for all of our albums, culminating in the official release of our new album online,” says band member Brian Buchanan. “With Bandzoogle's tools, I was able to quickly create a Tip Jar page, and I added other limited-edition merch items and back catalogue albums to the page as well. I launched our Throwback Thursday listening party series within a week, and we've worked our way through 10 listening parties, sold tons of back-catalogue merch, and generated over $15,000 in tips from our unbelievably generous fans around the world.”

Bandzoogle’s centralized features also lead fans to buy artists’ music and merchandise directly, the latter of which has netted nearly $4M 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,” says Bandzoogle’s VP of Business Development Dave Cool. “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 live-stream, 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.”

According to the company, Bandzoogle powers over 50,000 websites for musicians who have sold over $61M in music, merch, and commission-free tickets since the company’s launch in 2007.