Tune.FM recently announced a significant milestone in its journey. The company has successfully secured $20 million in funding from LDA Capital in its latest financing round.
The main goal of Tune.FM is to change how the music industry works by giving more control to the artists. The current landscape sees major streaming platforms and global music corporations absorbing the lion’s share of streaming revenues. Tune.FM seeks to disrupt this status quo by ensuring artists receive up to 90% of these funds.
At the heart of Tune.FM’s strategy is the utilization of cryptocurrency micropayments. This system allows artists to engage directly with their fans on a global scale, effectively bypassing traditional middlemen. By leveraging this technology, Tune.FM aims to level the playing field for artists worldwide and democratize music access for audiences.
Artists using Tune.FM’s platform can earn JAM tokens for every second their music is streamed. This micropayment technology facilitates the instant settlement of streaming royalties, potentially enabling artists to earn significantly more (up to 100 times more) than they would on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.
Additionally, the platform offers innovative ways for artists to expand their fanbase. Artists can promote their songs to verified first-time listeners, earning a return on investment as these new fans continue to engage with their music. Furthermore, Tune.FM enables artists to mint Music Collectibles (NFTs) featuring songs, albums, art, videos, royalties, and exclusive experiences. These can be sold directly to fans through the platform’s auction marketplace, with varying tiers of unlockable perks and experiences.
Listeners also stand to benefit from Tune.FM’s model. Users can earn JAM tokens simply by listening to promoted music, discovering music tailored to their tastes, and finding their next favorite artist. The platform also allows for direct engagement between fans and artists. Users can purchase digital collectibles, earn alongside artists as they gain popularity, and access exclusive experiences like meetups, VIP passes and shows.
In what some might consider an unconventional choice, Tune.FM has opted for Hedera Hashgraph as its underlying blockchain technology. Despite not being a mainstream choice in blockchain applications, the team believes it satisfies the project’s technological requirements, offering high throughput and supporting cheap micropayments.
Currently, Tune.FM is in its beta phase, with negotiations underway to bring several high-profile artists onto the platform. The JAM token, integral to the platform’s ecosystem, is already trading in the market. Despite the substantial funding round, the token’s market cap remains relatively small at around $3.75 million. This could potentially suggest a prevailing skepticism among retail investors regarding the viability of the decentralized streaming concept.
Notably, Tune.FM is entering a market already populated with decentralized streaming platforms, an area that has been evolving for some time. Key players like Audius, with a market cap of $235 million, Emanate, Bitsong, and Tamango are also vying to challenge major streaming platforms. And we recently Observed Sound.xyz partner with Coinbase to use Base Layer 2 network. However, despite their ambitious promises, these companies have a considerable journey ahead before they can truly rival the established giants in streaming.
