Audius was not the obvious choice for partnering with the short video giant.
And, even more unusual, Audius is one of the first and only streaming platforms run on blockchain.
Remind me, what is blockchain?
Blockchain is a technology that stores data records and transfers values with no centralized ownership.
It can also mean more streamlined and transparent payments.
Platforms like Spotify and Apple Music use a pro-rata model to pay artists.
That is, payments are generated for artists more directly from people streaming their songs.
Now, it seems TikTok may be poised to follow.
And how does TikTok work?
Once on TikTok, songs can be used as background for short videos and can go viral.
Audius will enable independent artists to upload music directly to TikTok.
Is this a fairer payment system?
When artists are paid from a platform like Spotify, they are paid in money.
But Audius conducts blockchain transactions using its in-house cryptocurrency called $AUDIO.
So, what does this mean for artists?
And a user-centric model isnot without flaws.
Anything less would create fundamentally unequal conditions for artists using different services.
Even TikTok isnt putting all its eggs in the blockchain basket.
Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, Assistant researcher,Queensland University of Technologyis republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license.
