What happens to a Bandcamp account when someone dies
Bandcamp publishes no process specific to a deceased person's account; a written request goes in through Bandcamp's support ticket system.
Bandcamp decides what happens to a Bandcamp account after a death case by case; its terms promise no transfer.
Bandcamp publishes no process specific to a deceased person's account; a written request goes in through Bandcamp's support ticket system.
How to request a transfer
Artist and label accounts
Fan accounts
What Bandcamp (Songtradr)'s terms say at death
- The terms
“These Terms of Use are personal to you, and are not assignable, transferable or sublicensable by you except with Company's prior written consent.”1
What Bandcamp (Songtradr) says happens6
- Purchased content and licenses
Purchased music is licensed, not owned: Bandcamp grants "a worldwide, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable and non-transferable license" for personal, non-commercial use, so a fan collection does not move to a survivor by right.1
- Closing the account
Bandcamp may terminate access to all or part of the service at any time, with or without cause or notice, which may forfeit and destroy all information associated with the membership, including access to purchased music.1
- Who owns the asset
Bandcamp takes no ownership rights in the music, only the rights it needs to run the service, such as hosting it and selling it on the artist's behalf, so the copyright is separate from the account and passes to the estate through normal inheritance.2
- How requests are reviewed
Bandcamp's terms do not commit it to act on an estate request, and moving a collection or account to a survivor rests on its prior written consent.1
Bandcamp's contact page carries a standing notice that it is "experiencing a high volume of emails at this time and our response times are slower than usual."3
- Balances, payouts and refunds
Undisbursed sales proceeds continue to pay out to the connected payout account after a death.1
Sales pay out to the connected PayPal account 24-48 hours after each sale by default, or in bulk on the 1st of each month on the monthly setting; higher-value purchases are manually reviewed and may take up to 14 days.4
PayPal remains the only way to be paid out until Bandcamp completes its phased move of sellers to Stripe; PayPal remains available through the end of 2026 and in countries Stripe does not support.5
- Continuing a shop, channel or listing
Bandcamp charges no subscription or listing fee, so an artist catalog can stay listed and purchasable without a renewal payment.1
Bandcamp is the seller of record and handles fan refunds on most purchases directly, but the seller can issue full or partial refunds on physical items.1
On Bandcamp Friday dates Bandcamp waives its revenue share, though payment processor fees still apply. The 2026 dates are February 6, March 6, May 1, August 7, September 4, October 2, November 6 and December 4.6
Not in Bandcamp's published guidance8
- A process for a deceased account holder
- A complete list of the documents to send
- How long a request takes
- A phone number for this
- A mailing address for a written request
- A support or estates email address
- An automatic delisting policy
- What Bandcamp will or will not do with an estate request
Sources6
A written request to Bandcamp can ask it to provide purchase and transaction records for the estate inventory, transfer the accounts to a named family member, refund an unspent balance, preserve the account while the estate is opened and close the account.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter for Bandcamp drafts that request from the estate's details.
Sources
Data sourced from Bandcamp (Songtradr) primary sources (7 pages reviewed). How we research.
Bandcamp estate claims
Bandcamp Support
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
Forms for Settling an Estate
Free forms for settling an estate: the probate petition, small estate affidavit, notice to creditors, inventory, and closing forms.
Affidavit of Death
Put a joint owner's or a transfer on death deed owner's death on the land records with the affidavit your state's statute names, laid out for recording.
IRS Form 56
Notify the IRS that you are the fiduciary of an estate, a trust or a person, or end a notice filed before, on the official form.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter
Prepare a letter requesting a deceased person's online accounts, points, and balances from the program that holds them.
Petition for Probate and Letters
Open probate and ask the court to appoint you and issue Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Notice to Creditors
Notify estate creditors and start the claim period — the published notice plus mailed copies for known creditors.
Renunciation of Executor
Decline an appointment as executor named in a will — the writing filed with the court before anyone is appointed.
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