Towers and Future History - Bandcamp vs. Soundcloud

     There are a number of low-cost or no-cost audio streaming sites available to Indie bands. The most popular are Spotify, Soundcloud and Bandcamp. The bands prefer that everyone use Spotify, because artists  are paid with each play of their music (although a VERY small amount per play).  But not every blog reader wants Spotify installed on a personal computer or feels comfortable with programs executing from a website.  

     As a blog reader, there are advantages to Soundcloud. Sometimes the waveforms are interesting or useful in navigation through a song.  And a simple “mouse click” is all that is required to jump to a different segment in a song, as compared to bar dragging required by Bandcamp.  Best of all, if you start a Soundcloud song, it automatically pauses any partially played Soundcloud song you may have been sampling on the same page.

     But Bandcamp certainly has its place.  Consistently, it provides high resolution streaming.  And sometimes bands select Bandcamp over the alternatives.  As two examples, in mid-2012 our Indie obsessiveness was directed at two songs by bands from Toronto, Canada (Towers) and Melbourne, Australia (Future History).  The songs are included below.  At least temporarily, they are free and legal for downloading (although Towers would appreciate a tip).