Bandcamp Deleted Your Catalog Over AI? Here's the Appeal Playbook (2026)

Quick Answer

If your Bandcamp account was wiped after the January 13, 2026 "Keeping Bandcamp Human" policy, the appeal works in three moves: email [email protected] with a one-page evidence packet (DAW project files, stems, session video, timestamped lyrics), wait 7 to 14 business days, then escalate publicly on X and to journalists at Side-Line and Digital Music News if ignored. According to Chartlex campaign data from 2,400+ campaigns, about 6.1% of indie artists running Spotify promotion also had Bandcamp pages, and roughly 1 in 9 of those got hit with a flag or full removal in the 90 days after the policy dropped. Bandcamp lost about 50% of staff after the 2023 Songtradr acquisition, so review queues are slow. Stay calm, document everything, and keep your tone factual.

Why Your Catalog Got Pulled (Even If You Are 100% Human)

Bandcamp's January 13, 2026 policy reserves the right to remove any release "on suspicion of being AI-generated." There is no required proof, audit, or technical verification. Side-Line documented multiple cases where accounts were summarily deleted overnight with no warning email, including the Kazakhstan-based artist Moonvampire whose entire page was banned after a single user report.

The trigger is almost never the music itself. It is a report. Bandcamp leans on community flagging because the post-Songtradr team is roughly half the size it was in 2023, and human review at scale is expensive. A jealous competitor, a confused fan, or a bot net can put you in the queue.

Holly Herndon, who holds a PhD from Stanford's CCRMA and built the Holly+ vocal model, called the policy "a tourniquet" on X, arguing the human/AI binary "is not going to hold, and will become a matter of superficial optics." She is right that enforcement is blunt. That is why your appeal needs to be sharper than the takedown.

The Five Most Common False-Positive Triggers

If you check more than two of those boxes, your odds of getting reported go up regardless of how the music was actually made.

Step-By-Step: The Bandcamp Appeal Walkthrough

This is the exact sequence that has worked for artists who got their catalogs back.

Step 1: Screenshot Everything Before You Touch Anything

The moment you notice the suspension email or the dead artist URL, screenshot the email headers, the 404 page, your last successful sale receipt, and any DM or notice you received. Do not log in and start clicking. Some artists report that login attempts on a banned account zero out the appeal queue and reset your case timer.

Step 2: Build A One-Page Evidence Packet

Pull together, in a single PDF or shared Drive folder:

• DAW project file screenshots (Ableton, Logic, FL Studio session view)
• Raw vocal stems with timestamps
• Phone video of you tracking, mixing, or playing the parts
• Original cover art source files (PSD, AI, or photographer credit)
• Lyrics with handwritten or dated draft photos
• Distribution receipts from DistroKid, TuneCore, or your label
• A two-paragraph cover note: who you are, when you uploaded, what got removed

Keep it under one page of summary text plus linked files. Reviewers are buried.

Step 3: Email The Right Address

Do not send appeals through the generic contact form first. Email both addresses below, with the same packet attached, in the same thread:

Subject line: "Appeal: [Your Artist Name] - account removed [date] - human-created catalog evidence enclosed." That subject gets opened faster than "Please help me."

Step 4: Wait 7 To 14 Business Days

Bandcamp's own help center notes the team is running slower than usual response times. The artists who got reinstated mostly heard back in week two, not week one. Do not send a follow-up before day 8. A second email reshuffles you to the bottom.

Step 5: Escalate Publicly On Day 15

If day 14 passes with no human reply (auto-acknowledgements do not count), open three escalation channels in parallel:

1. Post a calm, factual thread on X tagging @Bandcamp and @Songtradr with your case number, the date you appealed, and one screenshot of the evidence packet cover page.
2. Email a journalist who covers this beat. Side-Line ([email protected]) has been actively documenting false positives. Digital Music News and Resident Advisor have also covered the policy.
3. Post a short factual write-up to r/Bandcamp and r/WeAreTheMusicMakers. Reddit threads frequently get scraped by the same journalists.

Do not threaten legal action in public. It almost always slows the appeal, because Bandcamp routes anything with legal language through Songtradr counsel.

Step 6: If Reinstated, Lock Down Your Account

When the catalog comes back, immediately enable two-factor authentication, add a verified bio with photos, link your other socials, and pin a short "All music on this page is human-created by [name]" notice. This makes future false reports easier to dismiss.

Step 7: If Permanently Denied, Migrate Cleanly

If the final answer is no, focus your energy forward, not on appeal loop two. Export your fan email list via the Bandcamp dashboard while you still have read access (some artists keep limited access for a grace period), and move to a backup setup before announcing anywhere. Pair a direct-sales storefront with renewed streaming push so revenue does not stall while you rebuild discovery.

Before Vs After The Policy: What Actually Changed

The biggest shift is the inversion of the burden of proof. Before January, Bandcamp had to show you broke a rule. After January, you have to show you did not.

What To Say (And Not Say) In Your Appeal Email

The artists who got reinstated wrote like engineers, not like victims. Three patterns work:

1. Lead with verifiable facts. "Track uploaded 2025-11-04, recorded at [studio name], mixed by [engineer], mastered by [engineer]." Names and dates beat adjectives.
2. Address the AI suspicion directly. "I am aware the genre I work in is frequently flagged. Attached are session screenshots from [DAW] showing live MIDI input and audio recording timestamps."
3. Offer a second verification step. "I can record a 60-second video performing any 16 bars of the flagged track at your request."

Avoid the words "unfair," "censorship," "I will sue," and "you are killing independent artists." Every reviewer has read those a hundred times this quarter and the file gets closed.

When To Bring In Outside Pressure

Public escalation works, but only if your private appeal is airtight first. Reddit and X threads where the artist has not yet emailed terms-escalation get dismissed in the comments. Threads where the artist posts day 15 with a case number, a packet, and a polite ask for human review tend to get amplified by Holly Herndon's circle, by music journalists, and occasionally by Bandcamp staff replying directly.

If you run any kind of paid promotion to drive traffic to your Bandcamp page, pause those ads and Spotify campaigns the day you discover the suspension. Driving listeners to a 404 burns trust and budget. While the appeal is open, redirect promotion to your DSP profiles. A focused Spotify campaign keeps revenue moving while Bandcamp processes your case, and a quick free audit can tell you which platform deserves the budget right now.

Build A Pre-Appeal File Now (Even If You Have Not Been Flagged)

Half the battle is collecting evidence after the fact. Set up a shared folder today with the seven items in Step 2 for every release going forward. Use the release checklist tool as a template and save raw stems with each delivery. If you ever do get a takedown, you will have a 20-minute appeal instead of a three-week scramble.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Bandcamp actually read appeal emails?

Yes, but slowly. Side-Line confirmed multiple cases where artists eventually heard back from a real human at [email protected]. The team is roughly half the size it was before the October 2023 Songtradr acquisition, so expect 7 to 14 business days minimum, sometimes longer for complex cases.

Can I get my fan email list back if my account is deleted?

Sometimes. Some artists report retaining limited dashboard access for a short grace period after suspension that is enough to export contacts. Do not count on it. The right time to export your Bandcamp fan list is before any takedown, ideally monthly, so you always have a fresh CSV.

What if I genuinely used AI for one element, like a stem separation tool?

Stem separators, vocal cleanup, and mastering AI are generally not the target. The policy targets work generated "wholly or in substantial part" by generative AI such as Suno or Udio. If asked, be honest about which production tools you used. Lying to the appeals team is the fastest way to a permanent ban.

Will posting on X make Bandcamp ban me harder?

Not if you stay factual. The artists who got banned harder were the ones who posted screenshots of staff names, accused individual reviewers, or used slurs. Calm threads with case numbers and evidence have repeatedly led to faster human review, not slower.

Should I file a chargeback on my Bandcamp Pro subscription?

Not until the appeal is fully closed. Chargebacks during an open appeal often trigger automatic permanent account closure under Bandcamp's terms of use. If you are denied permanently, then a chargeback for the unused portion of your subscription is reasonable, and most card issuers will side with you given the documented account loss.

How do I prove a song is mine if I lost the original session?

Distribution receipts, ASCAP or BMI registration, copyright filings, live performance video, social posts from the writing process, and statements from collaborators all count. Bandcamp does not require one specific format. Volume and consistency of evidence matters more than any single document.

Is it worth staying on Bandcamp at all in 2026?

For many independent artists, yes. The direct-to-fan economics are still the best in the industry for catalog and merch. But do not put 100% of your distribution eggs there. A backup storefront, an active streaming presence, and an owned email list are the three insurance policies every artist should hold this year.

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