Affiliate Disclosure

What this page is for

An "affiliate relationship" exists when a company pays Bandmate a commission when we send a visitor their way — for example, if we link to a recording-equipment retailer and they pay us a small percentage of any resulting sale. The FTC requires that we disclose those relationships so you can weigh our recommendations with full knowledge of how we get paid.

What we do today

As of the date above, Bandmate does not have any active affiliate relationships on the public site. We do not currently recommend specific gear, instruments, software, or services in exchange for compensation. If we link to a third-party resource (an article about rehearsal recording, a SoundCloud profile, a Bandcamp release), it is because we genuinely think it is relevant, not because we are paid to send you there.

What we might do in the future

We may add affiliate relationships over time as the service grows. If we do, we will follow these rules:

• Only recommend things we would use ourselves. Every affiliate link on Bandmate will be to a product or service that we have personally vetted. If we have not used it or evaluated it carefully, we will not link to it for a commission.
• Label every affiliate link clearly. Any link that earns Bandmate a commission will be marked with a visible "affiliate link" tag, a different color, or a similar signal at the point of recommendation — not buried in fine print at the bottom of the page.
• Never recommend a paid product when a free alternative is just as good. If the honest recommendation is a free tool, we will say so.
• Update this page when a relationship starts. If we begin an affiliate relationship with a specific vendor, we will add a line to this page naming the vendor and the kind of relationship.

What we will never do

Regardless of any affiliate relationship, we will not change a recommendation because a vendor offers a higher commission. We will not auto-redirect links through affiliate networks without your knowledge. We will not run sponsored listings in the directory itself — paid placement in the directory would make the directory less useful, and the directory is the only thing that makes Bandmate worth using.

If we ever publish a sponsored post or accept free product for review, we will mark it clearly at the top of the article. We will not accept payment in exchange for a positive review.

Member-posted affiliate links

Listings on Bandmate may include links to the member's own releases, gear shop, or Patreon. Those links belong to the member, not to Bandmate. We do not take a cut of member-posted affiliate revenue. If a member posts a link that you believe is fraudulent, report it from the listing page.

Questions

Questions about this Affiliate Disclosure, or a concern about a link on the site? Email legal@bandmate.co. We read every message and aim to reply within two business days.