I use Bandcamp

Yep, bandcamp does all thoes things. Either that or go to their website and buy a thing. You may even try asking the artist directly as how best to do what you want.

Another vote for Bandcamp. It's a fantastic service, honestly.

Band camp tends to be my go to for that. They do take something like a 30% cut form the artists but they also meet your other two requirements.

Bandcamp? Particularly on Bandcamp Fridays

I use Bandcamp. I'm also extremely fortunate to have a few good record stores in driving distance that I will buy CDs from. Then I rip those and put them on my DAP for ease of use.

Check my list here: https://codeberg.org/jessienab/AwesomeListOfMusicRetailers

Tldr: bandcamp, qobuz, 7digital, juno download

I like to buy merch directly from them if it's available. That's after I become a fan after downloading their stuff on the seas.

If you can buy directly from the artist, do that. You're certain where your money is going. By a CD and rip it yourself if that's your only option.

I primarily use Bandcamp and Quobuz. 7Digital also sells FLAC music but I don't use that one too often (they only accept PayPal payments which usually blocks me from checkout).

I don't know the exact payout to the artists from those sites but most likely Bandcamp Fridays would be the time to buy with the highest payout to the artists. But in general buying music files still earns artists more money vs streaming.

I pirate the band’s work, then show up to a concert and put raw cash directly into the band’s hands and tell them thanks.

Naturally, this only works for smaller shows where the band show up at merch afterward.

Doesn't Bandcamp do that? I've been meaning to try them out.

If they’re on Bandcamp, I get them there. (Their system is generally very reliable and hassle-free.) If not (as in the case of major-label releases), I’ve gone with Qobuz in the past. They ship FLACs, though you may need to hand-correct the metadata in some cases, as it can be flaky.

I buy directly from the artist if possible and rip to FLAC.

If the artist isn't selling the album anymore, I try to buy from Discogs since at least that means the artist got paid at some point. Then I rip those to FLAC.

I’ve been very happy with band camp though they certainly don’t have everything.