Blockchain music startup Tune.fm has raised $50M from global emerging markets.
Decentralized music streaming platform Tune.fm has a new investor. According to a September 12 announcement, the protocol has received $50 million in capital from Global Emerging Markets, bringing its total funding up to $80 million.
The new investment will be allocated to provide liquidity for the protocol JAM Token (JAM), to reward artists and users in the platform. Previous investors in Tune.fm include LDA Capital, Alpha Token Capital, Block Alpha, Animoca Brands, The HBAR Foundation and GDA Capital, among others.
The platform offers music streaming services with an integrated non-volatile token (NFT) marketplace. Artists receive micropayments every second their music is released, while users can earn tokens by discovering and listening to newly introduced songs. The platform is powered by the Hedera blockchain.
“Users can create an account and start listening to music immediately; no third-party wallet is required,” a spokesperson told Cointelegraph. When they join the platform, a blockchain wallet is created automatically. This process aims to ease onboarding for non-crypto users.
Similar protocols have been exploring the intersection of blockchain and entertainment. For example, Royal allows fans to collectively own music copyrights by purchasing NFTs tied to songs. Backed by venture capital firm a16z, the platform is home to artists such as rapper Nas, who released NFTs in 2022.
The place welcomed industry veterans. Long-running digital music platform eMusic introduced its own cryptocurrency in 2020, the eMU token, promising direct income to artists. At the time, the company announced that artists would receive 50% of the revenue from their songs.
From CDs to streaming services, the music industry has undergone a remarkable transformation. According to Statista, the global music streaming market is expected to reach approximately $34 billion in revenue by 2027.
“The problem with today's major distribution platforms is that big corporations take the lion's share of the profits, leaving the artists with a small slice,” Tune.fm said in a statement.
Market leader Spotify has a market capitalization of $66.71 billion at the time of this writing. The company reportedly pays artists an average of $0.003 to $0.004 for a single stream. Plus, earnings start after 1,000 streams in a 12-month period.
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