I get asked by other punks pretty regularly about this or that new alternative online music sharing app or platform. This question has become more common in the last few weeks which suggests the tide is really starting to turn against Spotify. That's great, but I share the anxiety of many that a mass "Spotify exodus" is likely result in people jumping to something new that might be novel but won't really be fundamentally better.

I'm going to just share an answer I gave to a question about "Bandcamp alternatives" in regards to DEMO FEST in a recent (Sept 29th, 2025) interview with DIY Conspiracy. I've abridged my answer slightly, and at the end I'll add some updates. Go read the full interview if you are interested!

Those almost 200 demos from the first DEMO FEST were all uploaded on Bandcamp, but for DEMO FEST 2025 you’re trying out a static site generator called Faircamp. It would be really interesting to hear more about that. Also, what do you think of emerging Bandcamp alternatives like Ampwall and Subvert?

There are maybe a dozen different alternatives akin to Ampwall which are trying to callback to Bandcamp’s earlier days, sometimes with a slightly more ethical business model. These projects generally offer little or nothing that’s structurally or fundamentally different from Bandcamp. A few are cooperatives, which is more interesting. But overall, they are just proposals for another centralized online music distribution business. There is nothing to stop them from becoming shitty in 5-10 years, forcing us all to find something new again. I’m not interested in options like that.

Instead, I want something that lets us have more control and autonomy over how we share music online. A project that isn’t a new centralized site, but something that is open-source and self-hostable, so we can DIY it. I want punks to be able to both share and listen to each other’s music online without having to deal with a shitty company or corporate platform.

Faircamp is a (free, open-source) static site generator. Basically, it’s a program that makes a website that looks like a Bandcamp band/label profile. All the releases and tracks are organized nicely and presented for streaming/download. It doesn’t handle any payments or sales (but you can include a link to a PayPal to receive money). To use Faircamp, you install it on your computer, give it all your wav files, art, notes, lyrics, and Faircamp will put it all together and generate the HTML files. But, crucially, you need to take those HTML files and put them on a server yourself in order to have something people can reach on the Internet. It’s a bit technical and not easy for everyone. It’s not like Bandcamp where you can log in and just drag and drop everything to create or update a profile. You can see an example of a punk site built with Faircamp here.

But Faircamp is not what I’m dreaming of. Ultimately, I want something open-source and self-hostable so anyone can set up a DIY Bandcamp. Some technical skill from a person like me would be needed to set up each site, but bands could easily just sign up and upload their music as they do with Bandcamp now. I could run one of these for my local bands here, labels could run them for releases they put out, basically any person or group could set up their own. Hosting stuff on the Internet costs money, but any of these little autonomous Punkcamp sites could decide if they want to throw benefit shows, collect donations, or take a small cut of sales. It’s the same principle behind the decentralized Ask A Punk calendars, or Mastodon and the Fediverse.

There are two projects I know of that are working on something like this. One is Mirlo and the other is Bandwagon. Both are open-source and plan to be self-hostable soon. Bandwagon is also part of the Fediverse (you can follow a band’s page from a Mastodon account) and Mirlo has plans to add Fediverse features as well. I’m in touch with the creators of both projects, eagerly awaiting when I can try setting up my own version. When that happens I’m sure you’ll hear about it on The Counterforce.

Finally, as far as I can tell, Subvert is just a zine and a bunch of graphic design and unknown money sources pretending to be a radical Bandcamp alternative. I haven’t seen or heard anything about to suggest that it isn’t just a scam.

Two updates since that answer:

1. Mirlo

Mirlo has since received a substantial grant for developing decentralization features from the NLnet Foundation (a Netherlands non-profit that funds projects to contribute to an "open internet"). This means Mirlo is well-supported for the next little while to both become part of the Fediverse, and to be much easier for someone like to use it to build my own "DIY Bandcamp". Here's their blog post announcing their plans (https://mirlo.space/team/posts/funding-federating-mirlo). Following this work, small punk scenes or punk labels or anyone who wants to share (or sell) their music online could set up their own Mirlo. And I won't nerd out on the Fediverse stuff here, but it'll be cool too!

2. Subvert.fm

I was maybe a bit harsh on Subvert.fm as I had not looked closely at their website in a minute. They are now in "alpha" (though it's only open to members who bought the $100 zine). On their blog, they have published quite a lot of internal documents, demonstrating their formation of a complex cooperative model, with artist-members, label-members, supporter-members, etc., and a share investment model that allows them to raise investor capital a bit like a start-up. I'm a bit wary of that, particularly because they mention raising $650,000, but the link to provide more info "about the funding we took, the funding we didn't accept" doesn't actually deliver that (at least not today). There's just a lot of tech start-up vibes in general once you start to poke around. But I think their motivations are in the right place. It's probably not a scam, and at least they are mostly transparent if you can read through all the docs.

But is it a good fit for punks? Besides the vibes, it's a very bureaucratic business model with a lot of potential stakeholders who will have potentially conflicting goals. I don't think it really make sense for all musicians, labels, and interested investors/supports to be in one giant cooperative. It might be an ethical approach to being a "working musician" under capitalism, but that isn't a priority for me. You shouldn't have to join a huge complex business model just to share (or sell) your demo or record online. It's also just hype right now, and I'm skeptical of hype in general.

Conclusion: be DIY online

There is a clear contrast between Subvert, which is a closed-source single centralized platform (albeit with an ethical-ish business model), and Mirlo, who are working to build an open-source platform that anyone could use to create their own DIY Bandcamp. I find Mirlo more promising for punks, because of this alignment with DIY: it's a tool that any of us can use to do it ourselves, rather than yet another centralized platform that can fall out from under us.

If you are looking for somewhere to move your music to today, Mirlo's own instance is live right now for anyone to share/sell their music, but you can also DIY a band website using Faircamp (like RECALL), or use neocities (like DEADBOLT). Or something else. Just dub some demo tapes at home. Whatever you do, just consider: are you pushing the envelope of autonomy, or just joining another centralized platform with a makeover?

As this is one of my special interests, I'll be following all of these projects and continuing to try them out. Please get in touch if you have an opinion or perspective to share!