Despite a highly competitive battleground for users, blockchain-powered music streaming platform Audius has held its own thus far against its massive competitors, like SoundCloud.
That is impressive in itself, but it’s important to remember that Audius offers a value proposition unlike any other streaming platform out there: the promise of a decentralized network governed by blockchain technology.
While the Audius team is no doubt discovering the benefits and limitations of this decentralized future as they go, it’s clear that artists and fans are eager to help fulfill their vision. Here are some of the takeaways we took from the leadership team’s recent Reddit AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) published on r/electronicmusic.
Audius’ Approach To Enforcing Copyright Remains A Concern
Among the most frequently asked questions in the AMA pertained to the subject of copyright infringement and—more specifically—whether or not Audius plans to mitigate the risk of it.
It’s a complicated matter because as previously mentioned, Audius by its nature is decentralized. So unlike its centralized counterparts, Audius is unable to take unilateral action against any particular piece of content.
Copyright moderation will instead fall in the hands of community moderators via a forthcoming arbitration system. It’s a bold approach that ultimately will entrust a neutral network of users with the responsibility to vote on the outcome of cases as they arise. Audius says this approach is in part, designed to protect the platform’s most vulnerable users such as those who live under oppressive regimes where censorship is prevalent.
Audius Is Becoming A Go-To For Exclusive Releases
Audius has been increasingly embraced by artists of all walks as a go-to destination to drop exclusive releases. Exclusive releases are typically the most highly coveted pieces of content, especially with regard to well-established mainstream names, which makes it all the more interesting that the newcomer to the audio streaming platform space is quickly eating up this subsection of the market.
In response to one question, Audius shared a playlist of some of their favorite exclusives to the platform thus far, which includes tracks from deadmau5, NERO, Boys Noize, Disclosure, and more.
It Is Still Early Days For Audius
If you think you’re late to the crypto craze, we need only point to the top-voted question of this AMA: “What the heck is a decentralized consumer crypto app? Also, get off my lawn!”
The truth is that crypto is still in its early innings, and use cases for blockchain technology are being discovered daily. This is to say, if you are an artist, you haven’t missed the boat on building an audience on Audius.
With exciting new developments in the pipeline, including the long-awaited debut of streaming monetization on the platform and the recent rollout of $AUDIO token rewards, now might be a good time to explore what Audius has to offer.
You can read Audius’ full Reddit AMA here.
