Happy Bandcamp Friday, internet fam!
Today (2/6/26) marks another observation of BCF, a day where we take a moment to sit down, take 5, and select some fresh music for our personal soundtrack.
Solid-State Sunlight remains hard at work on the next album, so while there are no new SSS tracks to help us celebrate today’s observation of BCF, today stands as a reminder that Bandcamp Friday is still hard at work (as an institution). As it should.
Bandcamp made news recently when they vowed to eliminate ‘AI slop’ content from their platform. Independent human artists applauded this decision, yet enforcement has yet to be seen (at time of writing). Whenever it does happen the deplatformed AI artists will surely make a lot of noise. Making unfathomable amounts of noise *is* their superpower after all.
There exists a case against Bandcamp’s position that claims it is folly to resist the inevitable victory of generative AI. (imagine “holding back the tide” metaphor here) As a participant in the tech industry it is difficult for me to refute this argument. I’ve been in the room where disruptive technologies were born, observed their ascent reshape markets, and ultimately drive competitors into obscurity. Like it or not, we (myself and millions of artists like me) have been thrust into competition with gen-AI. Its tide threatens to drown not just platforms like Bandcamp, but human-made art as a whole. Feels very bleak at times.
I’m not sure what the future holds for Bandcamp but I love that BCF continues to be a thing, and our support ensures that it continues being a thing. Want to help us push back the tide of AI? Go look for new music from your favorite independent artists, or browse around on sites like Bandcamp (or others like Ampwall or Mirlo) to discover some new (to you) artists who are making art in the gathering shadow of our computer overlords. In spite of them.
Join our dance as the hungry ants swarm at our feet.