We know we’ve alreadyย been urging you to buy merch from local artists who find themselves in dire financial straits as COVID-19 cancellations wipe out their income.

But we hope you haven’t maxed out your credit cards and record collections yet:ย Bandcamp has announced that it will waive its revenue shares from digital and physical merchandise purchasesย for 24 hours tomorrow. (The site typically takes 15 percent of digital and 10 percent of physical sales.)

“For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not,” writes Bandcamp CEOย Ethan Diamond.ย “Still, we consider this just a starting point. Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come.”

The fundraiser is in effect from midnight to midnight Pacific Time on Friday, March 20 (meaning it runs from 3:00 a.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday here on the East Coast). If you can, load up your shopping cart with merch from local artists now.ย 


DEAR READERS, WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW MORE THAN EVER. Support independent local journalism byย joining the INDY Press Clubย today. Your contributions willย keep our fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle, coronavirus be damned.