Music meets Blockchain: Understanding Audius's Decentralized Platform and Web3 Integration
Summary:
This article discusses the intersection of music and Web3 technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and AI. It focuses on Audius, a decentralized music streaming platform that's embraced these technologies since 2018. Audius caters to mainstream audiences and simplifies Web3 processes to make them less intimidating. The platform introduced NFT-gating in 2023, allowing artists to limit access to specific content to fans owning a corresponding NFT. It also encourages generative AI use, allowing artists to tag their profiles as "AI-friendly".
Music has long been recognized as a universal mode of communication, bridging different cultures, lifestyles, and backgrounds. It opens doors for innovative ideas and technologies. Generally, the music industry is ready to embrace modern technologies that enhance creativity, expedite production, and increase accessibility. Today's artists can produce entire albums within the confines of their own homes, thanks to technological advancements that were inconceivable just decades ago. Similarly, emerging Web3 tools such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and artificial intelligence (AI) are finding increasing applications in various aspects of music. In recent times, musicians have leveraged nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to debut singles or create unique experiences for their fan base, used AI to create novel artists and tunes, and employed blockchain to revolutionize music streaming.
A key player in the convergence of Web3 and the realm of music since 2018 has been Audius, a decentralized music streaming and revenue platform. It has successfully garnered the interest of popular artists like deadmau5 and Skrillex, and their fans, allowing many to engage with the next generation of digital integration. Cointelegraph recently had a conversation with the co-founders of Audius, Roneil Rumburg and Forrest Browning, to delve into how the future of music could simultaneously be decentralized, revolve around communities, and incorporate AI.
While cryptocurrencies and Web3have been viewed as specialized sectors up until recently, music enjoys a nearly universal appeal. Browning highlighted this as their initial approach. He described music as a potent facilitator for entering the realm of cryptocurrencies. Audius began with the mainstream Web2 audience in mind rather than focusing on the specific needs of the Web3 community. They adopted an engineering and product-focused approach to simplify and make less intimidating aspects of Web3 that could deter usual Web2 users.
Users are free to decide how much they wish to interact with the fundamental Web3 components that form the basis of the platform. They can explore and learn about wallet addresses and cryptocurrencies, but if they prefer to use it like a conventional Web2 streaming service and listen to their favorite artists or purchase a track, all these mainstream functionalities are available. It is the platform's responsibility to make it user-friendly.
The capability of music to naturally expand its user base beyond crypto-enthusiasts is because of the familiar routines of streaming and uploading tracks or being a die-hard fan wanting to accumulate artist merchandise. Users don’t necessarily need to be aware that whenever they favorite a track, repost something, or upload a song, these actions are all being recorded on the blockchain.
In March 2023, Audius incorporated NFT-gating to allow artists to restrict access to particular songs, mixes, and track stems to fans who own the corresponding NFT. This feature’s introduction coincided with a significant dip in the NFT market. Rumburg expressed that the speculative aspect of NFTs tends to fluctuate with the market, whereas fandom maintains consistency. Audius does concentrate on artists or fans, not purely speculators.
As AI advances, the team at Audius is considering how best to empower its decentralized community and endorsing innovation. Last May, the platform launched a feature that allowed artists to label their profile as "AI-friendly.” Anything an artist creates using generative AI ends up crediting the original artist. This forms a social graph and shows that it's an AI creation of a particular artist, ensuring that everyone can do what seems right to the parties involved.
Published At
4/1/2024 3:37:56 PM
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