In the wake of Bandcamp's sale to Epic and subsequent acquisition by Songtradr, a number of alternatives have sprung up. I've talked about Nina and AmpWall specifically but there are many more!

One that came across my radar recently is Subvert - a "Collectively Owned Music Marketplace." At this time (Jan 2024), there's not much to speak of in terms of tangible tools or marketplace but there are a litany of good ideas. You gotta start somewhere!

Specifically, they have a lofty Roadmap that forecasts a collectively owned legal entity that could expand well beyond a digital marketplace. There's lengthy documentation about their governance, polices and ownership plans. There's a forum with some interesting conversations happening around all of the above.

It's a work in progress but the primary focus at the moment seems to be that they are raising funds with Vouchers - an alternative and transparent approach to gathering finances outside of the Venture Capitalist system. The Voucher options are fairly straightforward - donate early and get additional "credits" once the service launches. Those credits would be used in place of paying fees to Subvert (their example: a platform fee is waived b/c it's already been prepaid).

All and all, it sounds interesting. Their graphic design is on point and they are working in the open; two things that are hard to say about Bandcamp. But it's still way too early to know what will come of this lofty thought exercise! In the meantime, I'll continue to keep an eye on it, be supportive and see what manifests!