Bandcamp sales now go to ARIA

Image: Brisbane band and label owners of Ratbag Records, Dune Rats

Sales figures from US publishing platform and online marketplace Bandcamp have been included in the ARIA Charts for the past month. 

Bandcamp curator Andrew Jervis revealed the news exclusively to FasterLouder, ahead of his appearance at Face The Music this November 17 and 18.

“ARIA now do actually count sales. They haven’t made the official announcement, but they started as of about three weeks ago,” Jervis told FasterLouder. 

ARIA confirmed Bandcamp now contributes to its Singles and Albums charts.

An ARIA spokesperson told TMN: “We are very excited to be able to include Bandcamp sales into the ARIA Charts. This platform that has become increasingly important for artists, in particular independent artists, to sell their music to their fans so it is integral that the ARIA Charts can reflect these sales.”

The move is expected to better reflect the success of independent local artists who have adapted to the digital climate. According to the Bandcamp website, Australian band Dune Rats are among the best-selling artists on the platform. The Brisbane trio’s album Social Atoms is listed in the Top 10 best-selling releases globally. 

Bandcamp has been reporting to Nielsen SoundScan for inclusion on the US Billboard charts, as well as Music Canada, since 2009.

ARIA’s Singles chart includes sales and streams from the following digital services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, iTunes, Music Glue and MyPlay Direct, to name a few.

Its Album chart does include contributions from some digital services, but is yet to include streams from platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. Google’s streaming giant YouTube currently contributes only to the ARIA Audio-Visual + Streaming Chart. 

In May, Bandcamp Head of Strategy and Growth, David Dufresne told FasterLouder it was working on reporting to the Official Charts Company (OCC) in the UK also.

Bandcamp’s website notes its users have paid artists $4.9 million in the last 30 days alone.