Almost half a billion people use music streaming services. The estimated revenue of the companies that offer such services amounted to $13 billion last year. However, industry critics say that musicians are not fairly compensated for their efforts.

With this issue in mind, Audius was created. This is a protocol that is powered by crypto; it allows music streaming and sharing while giving artists more options to monetize their music and connect directly with their listeners.

Audius is one of the most significant non-financial crypto apps. It is owned and operated by a community of developers, artists, and fans. At the moment, there are more than 5 million users, in contrast to 3 million unique users in January 20021. The protocol is powered by the token called AUDIO; its market cap amounts to $1.2 billion.

Audius was founded in 2018; it is a decentralized service for streaming music in addition to a social media component. It allows musicians to upload music to the app and brings together artists and their fans. This blockchain protocol allows musicians to create timestamped and immutable records for their uploads, secured by a decentralized network.

Initially, it was built on POA Network, a sidechain of Ethereum, and with time it moved to the Solana blockchain. Developers can use elements of Audius and build their own apps on top of it, allowing them access to an audio catalog.

Audius is different from other music streaming services as it is built on a blockchain. Musicians upload their records free of charge, and users can enjoy this music at no cost while both parties make money in the form of cryptocurrency.

There is no preliminary review for those who want to upload their tracks. All you have to do is click “upload track” after free-of-charge registration. There is one downside: it is impossible to enforce copyright protection at the moment. However, an arbitration system is being developed; it will consist of community members who decide whether to delete certain audio content.

This summer, Audius was selected as TikTok’s partner due to its Sound Kit functionality, facilitating the transfer of songs from Audius to Tik Tok. Many Tik Tok users discover new music through Audius.