I don't think it's even possible to have a monopoly on DRM-free digital goods, lol. The whole point of eschewing vendor lock-in is that customers are free to take their business (and their music files) elsewhere at the drop of a hat, a precedent that was thankfully set by iTunes a long time ago.

I've heard people make claims like this so many times on the web, yet none of them have ever conducted a proper ABX listening test to actually confirm their beliefs.

Lossless audio is great to have but it's overkill for listening purposes, honestly.

Because every record label has its own policy and marketing strategies. I don't think most of major record labels are interested in Bandcamp's distribution system.

Well I'm fulfilling my music hunter with bundle from Groupees ( cheap and good way to find new bands) and if I need something specific from big publisher I go to Google Music.

I would like to use bandcamp but I stopped using paypal several years ago when I had some issues with them.

Tried to find the difference between loseless and mp3 but for me there wasnt much + had to focus on just listening to the songs to spot them.

So having good [non-damaged] hearing means you're an audiophile? Interdasting

Why can't all games be removed from GOG?

Do you mean all movies? :P

But....while they have become reasonably popular in the short time they've existed, streaming music has never been profitable at all, and it is my understanding that such services have never moved beyond reporting massive losses (when they aren't being shut down due to royalty issues or getting into fights with the artists themselves).
Streaming might be the future, but the whole thing is likely going to go through a fundamental change first.
PS: I like bandcamp. My only online digitally purchased music (that wasn't part of a freebie deal or a games bundle) is from there. FLAC ftw! And not just for audiophile purposes, I prefer having an open format that works for archival that'll sound good on hardware 30 years down the line too.

Because, as we all know, you can't sell music on multiple stores at the same time. Putting songs on Bandcamp makes them magically disappear from everywhere else.

No. Not enough doomsaying.

Yeah probably, it's still going through a disruptive phase. Streaming can't possibly fail in the long-term though. It's just such a convenient use of so many different technologies that there will always be customers willing to pay for the service, even if artists are getting dicked over :/

I don't mind some stuff never showing up on Bandcamp (though over the years I've stumbled across a few things that have been really surprising to find available there, given how popular the artist(s) are and the fact that they're carried on relatively major record labels).

That said, I don't fully grasp the notion of selling music through such a site and then charging the iTunes/etc. price for it there. While I don't expect artists to be offering their works for next to nothing in terms of price, there's also a reason I don't typically find myself dropping money on storefronts like iTunes/Google/Amazon/etc. and the prices play heavily into it.

Aside from that personal nitpick, my experience buying through Bandcamp has been nothing but positive (though I've run into one confusing bit which still ended on a positive note).

Just as an example, a little over a year ago I ordered a CD from a Polish artist and he was stunned to find he had any fans in the US at all, going so far as including a hand-written letter thanking me for having purchased his music.

OP, have you looked into 7digital? They sell flac versions for all of their stuff, and they have an excellent selection. Obviously, there's HDTracks, too, but their selection is relatively limited. There are valid alternatives, in any case, that don't require you to spend money on shitty, lossy stuff.

I've looked at 7digital, in addition to HDtracks, in the past; this is a perfect example of the issue I mentioned earlier in this thread. Presence by Led Zeppelin is $13.99 at 7digital for the 7 track 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC version and $17.99 for the 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC 12 track deluxe version. For the 7 track FLAC 96kHz/24-bit version at HDtracks it's $19.98 and $27.98 for the 96kHz/24-bit FLAC 12 track deluxe version (they don't offer 16/44.1 versions). At Amazon a new 7 track CD is available for just under $7 shipped or a used one shipping via Amazon Prime (which means I will receive it in 2 days) for $3.99. For a new 2 CD 12 track deluxe version shipped by Prime it's $13 at Amazon. Notice how much more the digital download versions cost in comparison to the physical CDs? Hence the reasoning for my previous comment:
At Bandcamp I can purchase the equivalent of a 2 CD album for less than $10 for each set. These aren't no name bands comprised of no name members either; the (a power trio that includes [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Crimson]King Crimson members Tony Levin & Pat Mastelotto), Crimson ProjeKct (that is a combination of the Stickmen & King Crimson guitarist/lead vocalist Adrian Belew's power trio), Wishbone Ash (who along with the Allman Brothers helped popularized the twin lead guitar band, they even predated Thin Lizzy's twin lead guitar lineup by at least a few years), Bernie Worrell (Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist).

Places like HDtracks definitely take advantage of the fact that they're selling higher resolution audio by coming up with some seriously spaced out pricing models.

Years ago I didn't really understand the derision I witnessed on a forum toward people claiming places like HDtracks were "doing it right" when it came to catering to the "audiophile" crowd. After I visited the site and saw the prices, I came to realize exactly why it was like that. Wanting to be an "audiophile" isn't cheap but apparently it also means having to be okay with some retailers and the like making a sucker out of you because of your hobby.