Blockchain-based music streaming platform Tune.fm today announced it raised $50 million in new funding led by Global Emerging Markets intending to reward artists for the time their music is listened to.
The new investment follows $20 million injected into the company led by LDA Capital in January bringing the total raised by Tune.fm to $80 million. Tune.fm’s prior investors include Animoca Brands, Alpha Token Capital, the HBAR Foundation and Broad Street Angels.
The platform uses Hedera Hashgraph LLC’s blockchain technology to provide musicians micropayments for streaming using its native JAM token, a cryptocurrency artists receive for every second their music is played by listeners.
The music and other assets are integrated into a nonfungible token marketplace, which allows the artists to provide blockchain-based tokenized proof of their ownership of their music. NFTs are a crypto-asset that represent songs, albums, art, video and other experiences. In the marketplace, these NFTs can be sold directly to fans or auctioned off for additional revenue.
Fans themselves can earn JAM tokens for discovering and listening to songs that have been promoted by artists to help musicians expand their audience reach.
“Users can create an account and start listening to music immediately; no third-party wallet is required beforehand,” a spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
Upon joining, the website automatically makes a blockchain wallet and manages the tokens. The objective of this is to allow users who are not familiar with the cryptocurrency landscape to join the website and immediately get on board and begin using the platform.
Similar blockchain-based music royalty platforms have explored the technology to connect fans and music artists. ANote Music, a European marketplace allows people to invest in music, own rights from content creators and earn returns. Music-focused NFT platform OneOf built a blockchain marketplace to connect fans and musicians using the Tezos blockchain. Music streaming platform Spotify AB also acquired Mediachain Labs, a blockchain-based media rights attestation network looking into the technology.
Tune.fm claims that one of the biggest problems in the industry is that streaming platforms take exorbitant percentages from artist royalties. According to the company’s website, not only are micropayment settlements instant, but musicians can earn 10x to 100x more than those paid by Spotify or Apple Music.