Artists from all corners of the music world have long voiced their frustration with the current format of the music streaming business. In short, artists want a higher share of the revenue made from streams and it’s something an up-and-coming streaming platform, Audius, is aiming to accomplish.
This goal seemingly convinced Nas and Pusha T to sign on as investors, as the company recently announced. The rappers join a list of artists that include Katy Perry, Jason Derulo, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, Steve Aoki, Chainsmokers, and Disclosure — according to a press release — as names who invested in the company.
“I believe [blockchains] might be the most important technology to ever hit the music industry,” Nas said in a statement. “Everyone who uploads to Audius can be an owner. You can’t say that about any other platform.” The company launched back in 2018 as a streaming service based on blockchain technology, which is also used to support NFTs and cryptocurrency. Audius also announced a $5 million round of strategic funding that would begin today.
Audius also boasts a sizable cast of investors that are music executives. They include Sony/ATV Music Publishing CEO Martin Bandier, Madonna and U2’s longtime manager Guy Oseary, and manager Mark Gillespie, whose clients include Frank Ocean and Calvin Harris. Speaking about Audius, Bandier said, “The blockchain is enabling entirely new revenue streams for artists and creators, like NFTs, social currency, and curation.” He added, “Audius is not only using the blockchain to add potentially significant revenue streams for artists, but it also allows them to cooperatively own the platform itself.”
The company’s highlight aspect is the fact that through blockchain technology, 90% of earnings from monetized streams would go to the artists and the remaining 10% would be given to the community that keeps Audius alive.