Own Your Music, Own Your Platform: Launch Your Faircamp Site in 20 Minutes!
As an indie musician, I've always wondered: can I host my own music site, something like Bandcamp, but entirely on our own terms? The answer, I found out, is yes, and it's far easier than you might think!
Many of us rely on platforms like Bandcamp, and while it is useful and has a built-in audience, the company's changed hands multiple times, which makes me worried about having all my music there. That's why I've been exploring new avenues.
Enter Faircamp: A Self-Hosted Solution
Recently on the podcast, The Lorenzo's Music Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Simon Repp, the creator of Faircamp. Faircamp is essentially a self-hosted Bandcamp-like site, but without the platform overhead. It's a huge deal for musicians looking to take control of their online presence.
Surprisingly Simple Setup
Now, you might be thinking, "How much coding do I need for this?" Here's the best part: a lot less than you'd think! If you're reading this, you likely have a tech-curious mindset or even some basic front-end coding abilities, and that's 90% of what you need for Faircamp.
You Need A Server To Host It
The biggest technical hurdle is simply the self-hosting, as you'll have to have a server to host it on. But don't fret – there are lots of really cheap options out there to host a website, or at least host a subpage for your existing website.
Set Up With Audio Folders And Text Descriptions
The actual setup of Faircamp itself is pretty straightforward, mainly involving filling out a simple text document. These text documents actually just sit in the folders with your arranged audio files. Whether it be a folder for one album, a folder for a single, anything like that. That's basically the setup of it.
It's pretty much a directory, and you create a file that has the information about what's in that directory. Think of it like organizing a music library and not writing complex code. Once you run the Faircamp program, it spits that all out as a website. Depending on how many albums you have, you could have this up and running in about 20 minutes!
Features and Benefits
Faircamp offers one of the features I love about Bandcamp, but with the freedom of owning my content. On the Faircamp website, they have an installer that simplifies the whole thing.
Once you get that running, you can easily create downloads of your WAV files that also get turned into MP3s, Ogg-Vorbis, FLAC, all that kind of stuff. Just like with the choices you get on a Bandcamp page.
Plus, if you would like to ask for payment for downloads, it can connect to PayPal for payments, or it can use services like Ko-Fi, and other services.
And this is all again, just done in the text documents, and it's pretty easy. Simon Repp designed Faircamp to be accessible, responsive, and a reliable experience, ensuring that you can simply put in your music and get out something you can build on. The documentation on their website is actually well outlined.
Dive Deeper
I dive even deeper into this entire conversation about Faircamp with Simon Repp on The Lorenzo's Music Podcast. You can listen to our full discussion and learn more about how Faircamp can empower your music journey.
Listen to the episode: Simon Repp: Faircamp - The Lorenzo's Music Podcast
So, what do you think? Do you think Faircamp is easy enough for the average musician?
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