Audius, a San Francisco-based decentralized music platform, announced the public launch of its direct payment feature, which now includes a 10% allocation to its community treasury.
The feature allows artists worldwide to set prices for their music and receive payments from fans, while also contributing to the platform’s ecosystem, the blockchain-powered platform said.
Initially introduced in beta to over 100 artists in November 2023, the monetization feature enables fans to make credit card payments in USDC, a digital stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, which artists can convert to any currency. Notably, 10% of each transaction will now be directed to the Audius community treasury, pending a governance proposal.
Roneil Rumburg, Audius Co-Founder and CEO, said, “It’s been very cool and surprising to see how artists have leveraged our music marketplace to engage with their fans while creating an entirely new revenue stream for themselves.
“From selling downloads to creating innovative contests, artists have really stretched the marketplace to fit their needs.”
Producer Kato On The Track is among the early adopters of the feature, which he used to sell music and beats. “I can build new communities on Audius, and they have the tools that let me engage with my audience in ways that I can’t do on other music platforms,” he said.
Meanwhile, rapper MadeinTYO sold beats on Audius and organized a fan contest with a collaborative studio session in Tokyo as the prize.
The launch of the new payment platform comes as several independent labels and distributors have partnered with Audius, including DistroKid, Beatport, EMPIRE, Nettwerk Music, Ninja Tune, Merge Records, Ampsuite, Circus Records, Anjunadeep, and Anjunabeats. The company has also partnered with performing rights organizations ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR.
Last month, the company signed a licensing deal with Kobalt, giving artists signed with the latter access to Audius’ decentralized marketplace. It also recently partnered with rights administration platform Music Reports to power the licensing of rights and payments to music publishers.
Founded in 2018, Audius’ backers include Maverick Founder Guy Oseary’s Sound Ventures, SESAC‘s John Josephson, former Sony Music Publishing (then Sony/ATV) boss Martin Bandier, as well as artists like The Chainsmokers, Katy Perry, Nas, Steve Aoki, and Jason Derulo.
Music Business Worldwide
