Blockchain-powered music platform Audius has signed a deal with downtown music. This says the company will bring “millions” of licensed recordings to music discovery, communities and marketplace platforms.
The deal includes both recording and publishing aspects of Downtown's business, and “unlocks new ways to connect directly with fans, allowing Downtown artists and labels to control how music is monetized beyond the typical streaming model,” Audius and Downtown said in a press release Tuesday (April 29th).
San Francisco-based Audius, which said it had 6 million users last year, offers artists a unique way to monetize music. Artists on the platform can set their own prices for music and products, and fans can pay directly to the artists they want to support.
Audius launched its payment system last fall and won the beta test nearly a year ago. Fans can make payments using USDC, a stablecoin tied to the value of the US dollar. Audius reportedly cut transactions by 10%.
The platform is busy signing license agreements with artists and independent music companies such as Skrillex, Deadmau5, Disclosure, Zedd, Dillon Francis, Diplo, Distkid, Empire, Kobalt, Nettwerk Music, Ninja Tune, Merge Records, Ampsuite, Circusite Records, Anjunadeep, cop, bitbiord, bitbiord, cop, bitbiord, ninja tune, and more.
It is also engraved in performance transactions for rights groups, including ASCAP, BMI, GMR, ICE and SESAC.
“Everyone wins when artists and labels have full control over how their work is shared and monetized and can directly support the music their fans love.”
Ronil Lambougue, Audius
“Downtown's rich client base is one of the most respected in the industry and we are excited to bring it to the Audius community,” said Ronniel Lamboug, co-founder and CEO of Audius.
“Everyone wins when artists and labels have full control over how their work is shared and monetized and can directly support the music their fans love.”
Harmen Hemminga, Vice President of Product & Services Strategy for Downtown, added: “In Downtown, our mission is to enhance creativity, striving to connect directly with our fans to the artists, songwriters and the businesses we work with, and to provide more acquisitions from our music.
“Audius opens new doors for creative fan engagement and monetization, taking control of the hands of artists and rights holders. We look forward to seeing how our client catalogues thrive in this unique ecosystem.”
“Audius opens new doors for creative fan engagement and monetization, and controls the hands of artists and rights holders.”
Harmen Hemminga in Downtown
In the case of Downtown, the Audius deal comes as they prepare to become part of the Universal Music Group family after signing a $775 million deal between UMG's Virgin Music Group and Downtown Music Holdings at the end of last year.
The deal UMG is expected to be in the second half of 2025 has recently become complicated by the launch of reviews by European Union Competition Regulators.
Across four divisions: Artist & Label Services, Distribution, Music Publishing and Royalty & Financial Services, Downtown serves approximately 4 million artists and 5,000 business clients in 150 countries. The company manages music estates for influential artists, including Meat Loaf, Miles Davis, John Lennon & Yoko Ono.
Downtown says it recently signed a deal with Neton Vega (Downtown Artist & Label Services), Jason Mraz (Downtown Neighborhood Rights), Pamungkas (Downtown Ownership Service Company Fuga) and Cameron Montgomery (Downtown Music Publishing).Music business all over the world