Like many other decentralized platforms, Audius was born to change the way centralized platforms, such as Spotify, work. It’s a decentralized streaming platform and it was built with artists in mind.
All artists are free to join Audius, build their own fanbase, share their work without a middleman and, keep all they earn to themselves. AUDIO is the platform’s native cryptocurrency and allows users to access features or take part in protocol governance.
But how does Audius really work?
Audius
For years, artists had to deal with a lack of transparency in their payouts, complicated publishing rights, layers of middlemen, and delays in payments. Audius was introduced as a solution to these problems and its mission “is to give everyone the freedom to distribute, monetize, and stream any audio content.”
As an artist, all you have to do is upload your music and it’s the same as uploading to other platforms, like Soundcloud. But everything is different behind the scenes! Let’s follow the course your music takes together:
- You upload your music.
- It gets uploaded to a Content Node (we’ll explain about this later)
- A reference code is produced for your music
- Your music, now linked to that reference code, is replicated to two other Content Nodes
- A blockchain transaction is published to record that your music is on the network and its metadata gets attached to your profile
- A Discovery Node will index your music using the reference code
- You’ll get notified that the upload was successful, once your music is referenced by a
Discovery Node
In centralized platforms, a parent company is responsible for all this work which makes them the true owner of your work. With Audius, you’ll be able to keep that ownership without being involved in all this complicated work.
It is worth mentioning that Audius is open-source, which means any developer can participate in its development. You can access the project’s GitHub page from here.
Now Let’s talk about Content and Discovery Nodes!
Content Node and Discovery Node
Audius is comprised of 5 components that work together to keep the protocol alive:
- Content Nodes: these are computers that store artists’ music and provide access to them. Node operators have to stake AUDIO tokens to be able to run a node. By running a node, they can earn a part of the ongoing AUDIO token issuance and aggregated fee pools. Artists can also run a node to host their own music.
- Content Ledger: all the content within Audius platform will be recorded in this ledger.
- Discovery Nodes: By indexing the ledger’s content, these computers facilitate the content retrieving process for fans. Node operators can earn a part of the ongoing AUDIO token issuance and aggregated fee pools. They have to stake AUDIO tokens to be eligible for running a node.
- AUDIO Token: AUDIO is the platform’s native token and acts as the money of the ecosystem. Users can stake their tokens to get access to different features or gain governance rights. Node operators also need to stake AUDIO to be able to run a node.
- Governance: a mechanism that allows valuable and active users to participate in protocol modification and improvements using AUDIO tokens.
AUDIO Token
AUDIO is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum blockchain and it has a total supply of 1 million tokens. AUDIO’s current circulating supply is around 411 million. Even though Audius migrated to Solana blockchain to manage its growing demand, governance and staking remained on Ethereum network.
AUDIO has 3 main functionalities within the protocol:
- Security: in order to run a node, operators have to stake AUDIO which will boost the system’s overall security.
- Access Features: by staking AUDIO, artists can access multiple features such as artist tokens or badges.
- Governance: Audius community makes use of different on-chain metrics to appreciate the most active users. In this way, new and active users will be a part of the protocol’s governance, and the power will not be concentrated in the hands of early actors
or those with the most staked tokens.
Endnote
You don’t have to be signed to a record label to share your work with others and maybe, earn from it. Audius makes it possible for all musicians and artists to publish and stream their music and be a part of a decentralized, open, and free world.
You can buy AUDIO from Binance, FTX, Uniswap (V2), BitStamp, and Gate.io.
Happy Streaming!
Useful Links: