Audius Aims to Be the Web 3.0 Solution to Music Streaming

Audius, a blockchain-based streaming platform, just raised $5 million in a strategic investment round from Nas, Pusha T, The Chainsmokers, Katy Perry, and more.

The Web3 streaming provider. In recent years, several platforms have aimed to improve how artists are compensated in the streaming era. Audius is tailor-made for the Web 3.0 era of the internet. Users can buy $AUDIO tokens to gain ownership and governance in the company. On Audius, 90% of revenue flows straight to the rights holders, while 10% is used by Audius to run the platform.

Audius launched in 2018, a few years ahead of the NFT wave. The platform now has over 100,000 artists and 5 million users.

An alternative, but not yet a replacement. Some believe that Audius will rival Spotify, but it’s still early. In a press statement, The Chainsmokers summed up their use case for Audius, which many others will likely follow:

“We plan to upload the stuff we play live, which we wouldn’t typically share on traditional music platforms. It’s a purer alternative to the more polished album rollouts that we will continue to deliver. As an artist it’s empowering to share different creative choices and to test stuff out in a lower-stakes environment.”

Audius will be a place for hardcore fans who want the B-sides and deep cuts. In turn, those artists get to invest alongside their favorite artists who are also owners of the platform. Audius has recently partnered with TikTok, which may strengthen its ties with major label artists.

The platform has the attention of fans and artists on the cutting edge of web3. It’s a lucrative place to be, but any company that wants to challenge Spotify will need a solution for the back catalogs, which accounted for 54% of UMG’s 2020 recorded music revenue.

Read more about Audius in Rolling Stone.