Audius Forms New Agency to Develop Open Tools for Artists and Creative Economies

• Audius Company launches to construct open-source instruments for artists utilizing its SDK.
• Led by Ujo Music co-founder, the company focuses on real-time, artist-first innovation.
• Previous NFT work, together with $10M in gross sales, informs Audius Company’s creator-driven technique.

Audius has launched a brand new inner division known as Audius Company, an experimental initiative centered on creating open-source merchandise for artists utilizing the Audius software program growth equipment (SDK). The transfer is meant to assist real-time innovation throughout music, know-how, and fan tradition by enabling creators to entry standalone instruments outdoors of conventional streaming frameworks.

The newly shaped company will discover and take a look at novel use circumstances for the Audius SDK whereas working straight with artists to grasp their evolving wants. The aim is to develop new artistic workflows, unlock new monetization fashions, and develop the artist economic system by way of decentralized infrastructure.

The Audius Company will probably be led by a former co-founder of Ujo Music, a pioneering blockchain music venture that launched the primary consumer-facing Ethereum-based music app in 2015. Ujo was initially constructed as a proof of idea however formed early conversations round decentralized music rights, digital possession, and programmable royalties.

That have types the muse for the brand new management position. Over almost a decade, the Ujo co-founder labored towards a imaginative and prescient of an open, artist-first digital economic system. Whereas Ujo didn’t scale globally, it contributed foundational concepts that stay related as artists and followers search extra equitable platforms for artistic trade.

Based on the brand new company head, the way forward for music platforms will doubtless differ from conventional fashions like Spotify and SoundCloud. As an alternative, permissionless innovation, real-time rewards, and fan empowerment will outline the following technology of instruments and companies. Audius Company goals to be a testing floor for that transformation.

Bridging the Hole Between Web3 and Music

Earlier than becoming a member of Audius, the brand new company head additionally co-founded Six, a Web3-focused firm that guided artists by way of the NFT market. Six was concerned in notable transactions such because the sale of Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-one album “As soon as Upon a Time in Shaolin” and supported NFT drops from high-profile artists together with Freddie Mercury, Diplo, and Galantis. These efforts generated greater than $10 million in NFT income whereas exposing limitations in cthe urrent Web3 music infrastructure.

The teachings from that interval highlighted a rising demand for higher instruments, artist possession, and community-driven economics. Nevertheless, the brand new Audius Company will reply to these gaps by working with creators and followers in actual time to determine sensible use circumstances, construct quick, and scale profitable experiments into repeatable fashions.

Present Platform to Function Launchpad

Audius at the moment helps over 3 million month-to-month listeners and has distributed lots of of hundreds of {dollars} to artists. The company’s launch is predicted to construct on this ecosystem by introducing unbiased options that improve creator capabilities.

By partnering straight with creatives, testing in public, and iterating rapidly, Audius Company plans to create infrastructure that displays real-world wants. Somewhat than assuming what artists require, the initiative will function by way of ongoing engagement and prototype growth.