Bringing Blockchain to Music Streaming w/ Ray Jacobson (Audius)

In this episode, Austin chats with Ray Jacobson (Audius) about what decentralization unlocks for the music streaming ecosystem. In contrast with legacy streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, Audius leverages blockchain to increase accounting transparency for artists. The platform allows artists to have more control over monetization methods, helping to build deeper and more direct relationships with fans through tools like remix competitions, pre-release options, and more. The conversation further dives into Audius' partial migration from Ethereum to Solana, the integration of traditional music licensing with decentralized systems, product-market fit, and more.

0:00 - What is Audius and its mission?
4:53 - What Audius enables for artists
10:09 - Artists' feedback to Audius' tools
14:02 - Audius' user profile
16:21 - Does Audius really need blockchain?
19:34 - The Audius user journey for artists
23:20 - Audius' technical architecture
27:02 - Long term vision: a decentralized audio protocol for the internet
29:52 - New monetization opportunities
32:10 - Audius' content and user behavior
35:13 - Will decentralized streaming platforms ever compete with mainstream DSPs?
37:19 - How does licensing work for content hosted on a decentralized platform?
41:22 - Audius' revenue model

DISCLAIMER
The content herein is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, options, futures, or other derivatives related to securities in any jurisdiction, nor should not be relied upon as advice to buy, sell or hold any of the foregoing. This content is intended to be general in nature and is not specific to you, the user or anyone else. You should not make any decision, financial, investment, trading or otherwise, based on any of the information presented without undertaking independent due diligence and consultation with a professional advisor. Solana Foundation Foundation and its agents, advisors, council members, officers and employees (the “Foundation Parties”) make no representation or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the information herein and expressly disclaims any and all liability that may be based on such information or any errors or omissions therein. The Foundation Parties shall have no liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to any person arising from or related to the content or any use of the information contained herein by you or any of your representatives. All opinions expressed herein are the speakers’ own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of any entities.