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Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

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Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#231

Post by johnnyanmac »

heleninboodler wrote: post #119
plainnoodles wrote: post #77

This is absurdly sad to me. I like to own my media (in the most practical sense that current IP laws let me do so). I run a Plex server and use PlexAmp as my primary way of listening to music, and my criteria are always this: * FLAC or similar, I want this to be a lossless preservation of what was on the best-available source. * No DRM. No mandated player. Just let me download a dang file. * "Real" flac: this is tech…

> Now I'm not sure what to do I mean, why not continue doing what you are doing until the thing that you like actually goes to shit?

Yeah, Epic's acquisitions don't really affect the aquired's day to day.

IDK why "protesting a launcher" means disassociating with every single thing a company does. Kind of hard to avoid every single Unreal Engine game, or Blender/Godot or any other company/game they gave no-strings grants to. Or games you played already but are on EGS when they get a PC port.

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#232

Post by slothtrop »

maldusiecle wrote: post #156
siver_john wrote: post #22

This feels like a major blow, as someone who just semi recently (probably around pandemic start) started getting into purchasing flac music from indie artists, Bandcamp was a great source of music. I understand nothing will change in the short term, but long term I am very concerned. Especially as streaming becomes more dominant and companies are less willing to provide flac based music and physical discs (where I ca…

Boomkat is also good, different selection than Bandcamp but comparable in size (they definitely have some Japanese stuff that Bandcamp doesn't, e.g. Tzadik's Japanese music line).

I just checked it out to confirm that they have John Zorn's catalog, and it seems so. Good find. I thought the man was married to physical only.

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#233

Post by johnnyanmac »

AlexandrB wrote: post #3

> Bandcamp will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community... 40% of which will be owned by Tencent, possibly more in the future based on the whims of Tim Sweeney and the performance of Epic's primary business (Video Games). Really unfortunate to see an independent source for music become part of a huge conglomerate.

Tencent as a game studio is even more hand-off than Epic. I haven't heard of any of their many acquisitions really being affected after purchase.

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#234

Post by bluetidepro »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #103
HellDunkel wrote: post #37

Lots of disappointed comments here. Would you guys really prefer seeing bandcamp beeing bought by Apple?

Not everything has to be a buy out. Why can't a business just be a business and make some money for the owners and provide a service for the users and grow organically (or not). I know HN crowd often see that as an unnatural business model but it has worked for small business for eons.

I don't care who you are, when you get an offer for millions and millions, I'm sure you'll quickly sing a different tune. I'm sorry, but this kind of thinking is just silly. It's always easy to say this kind of thing from the outside.

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#235

Post by nluken »

arwhatever wrote: post #176
siver_john wrote: post #22

This feels like a major blow, as someone who just semi recently (probably around pandemic start) started getting into purchasing flac music from indie artists, Bandcamp was a great source of music. I understand nothing will change in the short term, but long term I am very concerned. Especially as streaming becomes more dominant and companies are less willing to provide flac based music and physical discs (where I ca…

Would Bandcamp the business model + Bandcamp the website necessarily be difficult to reproduce, particularly in an environment in which the Bandcamp niche just became no longer fulfilled due to changing practices on the part of Original Bandcamp?

Makes me curious about the idea of a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to manage a platform that gives as much money as possible to artists. Perhaps that's a naïve vision, but I feel like a lot of artists would hop onboard if the interface worked, and that could overcome the network effect.

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#236

Post by riskable »

ketzo wrote: post #134
dymk wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is a big middle finger to those who had purchased the game. And I can't think of a game that didn't have the quality of its player base (and so, gameplay) decline after going F2P (looking at you, TF2).

The costs and benefits around a game going F2P are too numerous to list in a HN comment, but I think it is extremely reductive to call it a “middle finger” just because you spent $20 four years and 500 hours of game time ago. More people playing the game you like is very good for that game receiving more investment/developer time. Shorter queue times, more revenue for the game in the form of mtx, and gameplay in a co…

Making Rocket League F2P meant that skilled players could register as many new accounts for themselves as they wanted and "rank up" their buddies in competitive matchmaking. This completely ruins the competitive aspect of the game since it's far too common to join a game and get completely crushed by some grand champion playing on a brand new account, teamed up with his friends.

Another problem it enables is trolls: People make new accounts then join games to ruin the fun for everyone else. Account got banned? No problem: Make a new one. Repeat.

The ranked play aspect of the game was completely ruined after Epic bought Rocket League.

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#237

Post by johnnyanmac »

revolvingocelot wrote: post #197
JaimeThompson wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just wait to see what happens when Gabe of Valve decides to retire and needs to diversify his holdings.

You think the guy who bought a racing team for funsies (and for charity!), the guy with an extensive forge setup in his palatial basement, needs more money? I know it's hip to be cynical and all, but seriously. Even if he were so motivated by money, could anyone even put together a payout that'd be better than "continue to watch the Steam Store print money, beholden to no one because Valve is a privately-held company…

>I know it's hip to be cynical and all, but seriously.

I mean, thats many of the comments about this news, despite Epic/Tencent historally ringing true to their words.

>could anyone even put together a payout that'd be better than "continue to watch the Steam Store print money, beholden to no one because Valve is a privately-held company held by you"?

Sure. It's just a middleman storefront, and there are trillionaire tech companies right now (and more in the future). Maybe Gabe leverages Valve and jumps to a whole other industry when he tires of games. Maybe he just sells it all off and turns that into assets to will off (better than giving family a company they can't manage).

Nothing is certain and much larger internet darlings have been turned agaisnt faster.

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#238

Post by mdoms »

KerrAvon wrote: post #201
mdoms wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think it's naive to think that the opinion of a 40% shareholder has no influence on the CEO. Even if that just presents as a bias in their decision making. I'm more than willing to accept that I'm being naive. All I ask is some actual evidence of this influence/bias.

Given almost literally all of recorded corporate history in the United States, the onus is very much on the other side to continually demonstrate a lack of influence/bias. Edited to add: I find the blind faith people place in billionaire CEOs insane. Maybe save the empathy for people who need it and treat the obscenely wealthy with healthy skepticism?

Maybe you could start with what kind of evidence would convince you? It seems like you're asking Tim Sweeney to prove a negative, which is difficult.

I don't think "blind faith" is fair - I just haven't seen any reason to believe Epic is controlled by Chinese interests.

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#239

Post by riskable »

smoldesu wrote: post #88
superkuh wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When Epic bought the game "Rocket League" they promised not to change anything. At that time it had Windows, Linux, Mac, xbox, and playstation clients. 6 months after they aquisition they killed off the linux client (even for people who bought in-game purchases). Epic lies. It is what they do. They are the epitome of a dangerous megacorp.

For the record, Rocket League is still perfectly playable on Linux (even online) through WINE or Proton. But yes, they did axe the native version.

The input latency is noticeably higher when you play like this though. It drove me nuts last time I tried it (using Steam Controller and Dualshock 4 controller). It's a big reason why Rocket League sucks so bad on the Nintendo Switch (input lag).

Re: Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

#240

Post by ballenf »

BaseballPhysics wrote: post #168
Apocryphon wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet so many modern day startups have no viable exit strategy beyond acquisition- what does that say about the state of the industry, and of founders' commitments towards building a sustainable product?

> And yet so many modern day startups have no viable exit strategy beyond acquisition Bandcamp was already profitable and has been for years. The pandemic dramatically increased their sales. They were doing fine. Why did they need an exit ? That is the real flaw of SV thinking: that simply being a profitable, going concern is somehow inadequate. The result is monopoly accretion as small companies are repeatedly swall…

I think it's more so the result of cheap money than some way of thinking. Higher interest rates will curtail a lot of this activity. Might even see a wave of divestitures or spinoffs as companies have to look harder for sources of capital.
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