The next Bandcamp Friday is Friday, November 6, 2026, and the last one of the year is December 4. Most small bands treat it as a day to post "it's Bandcamp Friday" once and hope; the bands that sell something treat it as a deadline they prepped for.

Here is what the day actually is. For sales made between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, Bandcamp waives its revenue share. In 2026 that share is normally 15% on digital items (10% once you pass $5,000 in sales) and 10% on physical items. Payment processor fees still apply, and Bandcamp says those typically run 4 to 6%. Sales outside the window can't be counted after the fact.

This post goes up a little over two weeks before November 6. If you're starting cold, squeeze week one into a weekend, or run the full plan for December 4.

Week one: fix the page before anyone sees it

Fans who show up on Friday land on your page with their card already out. Make the page worth landing on.

  • Tags. Bandcamp pulls tags from your genre setting, profile genre tags, location and each release. Use the existing tag that shows up in autocomplete rather than your own spelling, because exact spelling matters for Discover. Set your location. "Sludge" plus your actual city does more work than five invented subgenres.
  • One limited item. A short cassette run, a lathe cut, a shirt you will not reprint. Set the real quantity and do not inflate it. Scarcity works when it is true.
  • Bundles. Pair the record with a physical package or a shirt so the bigger purchase is one click.
  • Full digital discography. If you have at least three public releases for sale and at least one has a minimum or fixed price (not all name-your-price at $0), you can turn this on from your Profile page.

Week two: preorder and the list

A preorder gives Friday buyers something new to pay for. In the album editor, check "this is a digital pre-order," pick the tracks fans get right away, and publish. Physical formats can carry a future release date, and you can attach the digital preorder to a vinyl, CD or tape package. Two limits: preorders work for albums only (a one-track album is the workaround), and a digital preorder can't be bundled with non-music merch like a shirt.

Then write the messages now, not Thursday night:

  • Your mailing list. Fans who bought or followed were offered a chance to join it. Email only the people who opted in. One email the Monday of release week, one short reminder Friday morning.
  • Your Bandcamp community page. Messages there go to your followers by email, in the app and on the page itself. Only fans who have bought something can comment, which keeps the thread clean.

Say what is new, what is limited and the date. That is the whole email.

The week of and the day of

Monday: announce what is on the table, with a photo of the actual item, not a mockup. Wednesday: one post on the limited item and how many are left. Friday morning: "it's live, here's the link." Friday evening, Pacific: one "last few hours" post.

That is four posts in five days. Any more and you are the band everyone mutes.

Point people to one link, your Bandcamp page, not a link tree with nine options. Thank buyers by name in replies if they post about it. Your Payments Summary and sales notifications run on UTC, so a late-night Pacific sale can show up dated Saturday. It still counts if it was inside the window.

After: the money and the data

Bandcamp says payouts land in your PayPal account within 24 to 48 hours. Before anyone spends it, set aside what you owe: the tape duplicator, the shirt printer, postage for every physical order. Ship physical orders fast. A buyer who gets the tape in a week buys the next one.

Then pull the raw data sales report from your Tools page. It is a CSV with every item, date and buyer, plus ship-to city and country on physical orders. Sort by city. That is a rough map of where people pay for your band, and it belongs next to your routing spreadsheet when you book the next run. Note which item sold out and which one sat. That is your plan for December 4.

Before November 6, pick one limited item, set its real quantity, and write the Monday email today.