Blockchain broadens music royalty access on Audius with ICE deal

As a long-time music enthusiast and crypto investor, this partnership between Audius and International Copyright Enterprise (ICE) strikes me as a game-changer. I’ve seen countless platforms promise to revolutionize the music industry, but few have delivered like Audius.

On the decentralized music platform Audius, over 330,000 copyright holders like artists and composers have the opportunity to gain royalties through a wider geographical area due to a partnership with the International Copyright Enterprise (ICE).

Audius announced its partnership with the ICE on Dec. 19 in a multi-territory licensing agreement. 

This significant agreement offers more than 330,000 copyright owners a straightforward method to collect royalties when their music is played on Audius across regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia Pacific.

A new era for music rights 

The partnership reflects a shared vision of leveraging emerging technology to empower creators. 

Audius chief business officer Shamal Ranasinghe commented on the development:

“ICE is one of the most forward-thinking technology players in royalty collection and distribution. Establishing an agreement with them ensures that thousands of artists, songwriters, and other rights holders around the world can begin earning royalties via Audius’ global music marketplace.”

In an effort to establish a more equitable future for the music royalty scene, which had historically been lacking in this regard, Audius has been diligently pursuing significant partnerships of a similar nature.

In addition to their latest collaborations, they’ve teamed up with significant figures in the industry like Kobalt, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR. These partnerships underscore one of Audius’ main goals: empowering creators to earn income directly within its decentralized platform.

The platform recently announced the ability to support artists directly by offering fans the ability to support artists through direct U.S. dollar payments. Audius says these functionalities help create a transparent and artist-centric music economy.

Decentralization meets opportunity

Tim Rawlinson, Vice President of Licensing at ICE, highlighted the importance of this partnership, stating that their goal is to actively champion and assist platforms similar to Audius, which contribute to a “vibrant and adaptable global music environment where creators, songwriters, and publishers can thrive.

“We’re happy to collaborate with Audius, whose platform not only fosters deep connections between artists and fans but also opens up new revenue opportunities to ensure sustainable growth across unique digital ecosystems.”

On the Audius platform, there are millions of individual monthly users engaging with the site, while ICE caters to over 330,000 content creators (rights holders) and has facilitated streaming of trillions of songs so far.

The firm has consistently led the way in streamlining licensing processes and maintaining fair royalty distributions. By incorporating decentralized technologies, it broadens its licensing offerings in a manner that empowers and benefits the appropriate parties.

CryptoMoon has reached out to Audius for additional commentary. 

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2024-12-20 15:45