Bandcamp Friday fundamentally changed my relationship to music purchasing and I want to explain how.

Before Bandcamp Friday became a regular event, I bought music when I found something I wanted to own. The purchasing decision was individual and somewhat arbitrary — I'd buy maybe 3-4 albums a month, usually things I'd already been listening to on repeat for a while.

Bandcamp Friday introduced a collective ritual around music purchasing that changed the behavior. Now I save a wishlist of things I've been exploring during the month and make deliberate purchasing decisions on the day. It's created a different kind of intentionality — I think about what I actually want to own rather than just what I've been streaming.

The other effect is that it's made me more willing to take chances on things I'm less sure about. Knowing I'm spending the money on a specific day gives me permission to be more adventurous with individual purchases.