The music industry has been more proactive than many other industries in exploring and adopting new and emerging technologies, such as Web3 and NFT.
Web3 has recorded many use cases in the music industry, from music distribution and streaming to fan engagement and exclusive communities.
One of the Web3 music streaming platforms, Audius, recently announced that musicians can now receive direct stablecoin payouts for their content.
Artists To Receive Direct Payment For Their Content Via Stablecoin On Audius
In a recent X post, Audius, a decentralized music streaming and sharing platform, announced that it has completed its private beta phase, which began last year November. The upgrade now enables musicians to receive direct stablecoin payouts in USD Coin (USDC).
According to Audius, with this upgrade, musicians on the platform now have more control over their pricing and fan engagement and can receive payments in USDC.
The upgrade also enables fans to use their credit cards to pay their favorite musicians directly in USDC. Musicians can then cash out the USDC or convert it into any other currency of their choice.
Audius also introduced a sharing model for community revenue, where 10% of each payment made by fans will be channeled to the Audius community treasury. How funds in the community treasury will be allocated will be determined by future governance decisions.
Roneil Rumburg, the co-founder and CEO of Audius, expressed his happiness about the latest development as he mentioned how several musicians have used the platform to engage with their fans effectively, and how the new revenue from music streaming is an avenue for musicians on the platform to create innovative opportunities.
Web3, The Future Of Music
Many musicians have taken to the music streaming platform to leverage its Web3 tools to better engage with their fans. For instance, Rapper MadeinTYO used Web3 tools on the Audius platform to engage with his fan community by hosting a contest.
This enabled him to have greater control over his music as his fans were also able to use his stems to create their songs.
Independent record labels like Ninja Tune, EMPIRE, and DistroKid are already registered on Audius, allowing musicians under their labels to leverage these features.
More recently, Audius entered into licensing agreements with major performing rights organizations like SESAC, BMI, ASCAP, and Kobalt. This move further legitimizes the platform’s role within the broader industry.
In a recent interview earlier this year, Roneil mentioned that part of his vision is for Audius to be,
Fully decentralized, community-driven, and embracing AI.
While Audius, officially launched in September 2019, is relatively younger compared to platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, which have long dominated the streaming market, the adoption of decentralized Web3 solutions has slowly helped Audius to challenge these giant streaming service providers.
To push Web3 adoption and advance Blockchain technology, Samsung’s investment arm, Samsung Next, announced its investment plan in Startale Labs, the Web3 firm behind Astar Network, earlier this month. Illuvium also has partnered with Samsung to improve web3 adoption.
