We’re big fans of the online independent music store Bandcamp. It truly puts the power in the hands of artists, who get create their own customisable microsite where fans can purchase their music as soon as the artist decides to upload it.

What’s more, Bandcamp are pretty good to their artists when it comes to the often contested matter of royalties. As we wrote back in December, artist Zoe Keating shared her Bandcamp statement, revealing she’d made an unbelievable $42,527.54 from Bandcamp sales in a year.

Considering major artists make next to nothing from major hits on streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora, that’s pretty damn good. If we had one gripe about Bandcamp, it would have to be that the bands need to be a little more creative with their names.

However, Bandcamp somehow just got even better by becoming the best way to find new local music online. Feel like hearing some quality hip-hop from your local area? Bandcamp is ready to serve it right up for you.

As FACT notes, if you’ve used Bandcamp before you’ll already know that it’s a great resource for discovering weird and wonderful music you never knew existed. Well, now you can discover weird and wonderful music happening around the corner from you.

The latest update to the Bandcamp app, which previously made navigating the extensive Bandcamp catalog somewhat cumbersome, allows users to browse “any genre imaginable”, or at least every genre available on Bandcamp, and filter by format and artist location.

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Just imagine, if you want vaporwave from Amsterdam, technical death metal from Perth, or indietronica from Miami, all you have to do is search. The app also lets you follow these selections, so you’ll see new releases from your favourite genres and location appear in your feed as soon as they’re uploaded.

The Bandcamp app is available for free via the iTunes and Apple Play stores, so do yourself a favour and grab it now. To demonstrate the app’s new capabilities, Bandcamp have just compiled their first ever city guide, taking listeners on a trip through Oakland.

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