Audius: The Blockchain-Based Music Startup That Just Got Funded ($5.5 Million)

Meet Audius – a community-owned music sharing platform that is planning to change the world, one blockchain at a time.

After announcing its platform which is now described as ‘the blockchain’s answer to Soundcloud’, Audius got funded in its Series A – with $5.5 million as it launches the first ever blockchain-based music sharing protocol.

The announcement revealed that the funding round was led by General Catalyst and Lightspeed, with Pantera Capital, 122West, Ascolta Ventures and Kleiner Perkins all being part of the funding.

The best way to understand Audius is through their own description, in which they state that the platform is ” blockchain-based alternative to SoundCloud to help artists connect directly with fans and monetize their work.”

The developers said that its protocol exists in perpetuity and is owned and controlled by a decentralized community of artists, music lovers as well as developers. As such, the platform is planning to disrupt the traditional music-sharing service model which many criticize for its lack of artist control and transparency.

The founder of Audius, Ranidu Lankage, is a Sri Lankan pop artist known for going platinum at 19 with the hit ‘Oba Magemai’ that brought a new age of Sinhalese pop music. There are many other artists which praise Audius’ new platform. One of them is 3LAU, an artist who is famous for his cryptocurrency knowledge and music.

3LAU shared his thoughts on Audius, stating:

“Artists need decentralized models for music sharing, and a stake in the platforms they contribute content to. Blockchain allows Audius to do this with tokens and decentralized voting-based governance so artists have a say in how the platform evolves. It’s a very elegant model and one which, as an artist, I find immensely attractive.”

This makes Audius the perfect solution for every artist who wants to connect directly with fans and distribute content to them without the involvement of a middleman. Just like SoundCloud, Audius has all the features of the building, nurturing and engaging with fans – only with the blockchain added – which preserves the artist’s account with no risk of a third party shutdown.