By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 22nd, 2024
The Audius blockchain platform has received funding from some of the most popular artists like Katy Perry, Nas, The Chainsmokers, Pusha T, Jason Derulo, Mark Gillespie.
On Thursday, September 16, blockchain-based music platform Audius announced a $5 million fundraise. The platform already hosts more than six million monthly users.
Some of the music industry’s most popular figures joined hands in this recent funding round. It includes some of the most popular artists like Katy Perry, Nas, The Chainsmokers, Pusha T, Jason Derulo, Mark Gillespie.
Other industry leaders also joined including Sony Music CEO Martin Bandier, CEO of the performance rights organization SESAC John Josephson, and CEO of the investment firm K5 Global Michael Kives.
The crypto-driven music service platform Audius aims to take on industry giants like Spotify and SoundCloud. The blockchain-based platform offers music streaming as well as sharing services. Furthermore, Audius recently announced new NFT features along with its integration with TikTok.
Audius Betting on the Blockchain Revolution
Top giants in the music industry are now betting on the blockchain revolution. Katy Perry is releasing her own NFTs later this year in December. Besides, Jason Derulo is also the owner of CryptoPunk NFTs. In a statement rapper Das noted:
“I’ve known that blockchain will change the world since I invested in Coinbase five years ago and I believe it might be the most important technology to ever hit the music industry. Everyone who uploads to Audius can be an owner, you can’t say that about any other platform.”
The recent funding of Audius was led by the early-stage blockchain venture fund Blockchange Ventures. the fund has also invested in other big projects like Polkadot and Solana. founded in 2018, the San-Francisco blockchain-based platform Audius has raised more than $8.6 million so far.
This includes contributions from big names like Pantera Capital, Multicoin Capital, and Coinbase Ventures. Audius also has its own native token $AUDIO. Speaking to CoinDesk, DJ Steve Aoki called the development a game-changer.
He added that artists have been frustrated with the current business model for a while. “Artists that gain a lot of traction [on platforms like SoundCloud] don’t get monetized at all,” he added.
Aoki said that in the last six months, he has spent more time making music for non-fungible tokens rather than working on traditional music.