(HYPEBOT) – Community-owned decentralized music platform Audius has added two key partnerships with distributors alongside the launch of a music marketplace that enables its 6 million music fans to support their favorite artists with direct payments.
Alongside core purchasing features, Audius users can now add an extra payment to support their favorite artists. Creators can now also control pricing for access to streams and downloads which triggers instant payouts.
As an added incentive for both creators and fans, Audius has launched the $AUDIO Match program which gives both artists and paying fans a 1:1 match of $AUDIO tokens for every purchase. For example, if an artist sells access to their music for $5, the artist and the fan both receive an additional 5 $AUDIO tokens from the Audius Network.
More than 40 artists are part of the initial launch, including Kato on the Track, Matt Ox, RAC, Cheat Codes, The Glitch Mob, and Daniel Allan. Independent labels EMPIRE, Nettwerk Music, Circus Records, Bitbird, Anjunadeep, and Anjunabeats, are among those enabling their artists to participate.
How To Participate
Audius anticipates opening the offering to all artists in the coming months. But to jump the queue, you may want to sign up on the waitlist.
Audius adds Distribution from DistroKid & Beatport
Audisu also added to major sources of artists and tracks for the platform.
Independent distributor DistroKid will make its massive catalog of tracks from 2 million artists available. Ampsuite, the label operations management platform owned by Beatport, will also add the option for its hundreds of labels to distribute their music to Audius.
“Today, artists and record labels will be able to set their own price to unlock music for their fans – b-sides, new mixes, and more,” said Audius Co-Founder and CEO Roneil Rumburg. “Empowering fans to make direct payments to the artists they love is a milestone moment for Audius and for all of the artists and labels who have made our community a key part of their offering to fans.”
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.
