Audius Partners with Downtown Music
The Audius Musical Platform has reached an agreement with Downtown Music, which, as stated by both companies, will provide “millions” of licensed records for the music and community market platform.
The deal encompasses both recording and publishing aspects of Downtown’s business and has “unlocked a new way for artists and labels to directly engage with their fans and control how their music is monetized outside the traditional streaming model,” said Audius and Downtown on Tuesday (April 29).
Monetization Opportunities for Artists
Audius, based in San Francisco, currently serves 6 million users, offering artists a unique avenue for monetizing their music. On this platform, artists set their own prices for their music and trades, allowing fans to financially support the artists they admire.
Last fall, Audius rolled out its payment system after nearly a year of testing. Fans can make payments using USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the value of the US dollar, which can be converted into any currency. As reported, Audius takes a 10% cut from each transaction.
The platform has been actively engaging in licensing agreements with artists and independent music companies, including Skrillex, Deadmau5, Disclosure, Zedd, Dillon Francis, Diplo, Distrol, Empire, Cobalt, Nettwerk Music, Ninja Tune, Merge Records, Ampsuite, Circus Records, Anjunadeep, Anjunabeats, Beatbitir, Coop Records, College Music, Title, and others.
Additionally, agreements have been signed with organizations to ensure rights protection, including Ascap, Imt, GMR, ICE, and Cesak.
“When artists and labels can maintain full control over how their work is divided and monetized, and fans can directly support the music they love, everyone wins.”
Roel Rumburg, Audius
“The extensive customer base of Downtown—one of the most respected in the industry—makes us very pleased to bring it to the Audius community,” said Roel Rumburg, co-founder and CEO of Audius.
Harden Hemmining, Vice President of Strategy for Products and Services at Downtown, added: “At Downtown, our mission is to expand creative possibilities, providing our artists, songwriters, and the businesses that work with them with innovative capabilities to connect with fans and earn more from their music.
“Audius opens new doors for creative fan engagement and monetization, empowering artists and rights owners. We are excited to see our clients’ catalogs thrive in this unique ecosystem.”
“Audius opens new doors for creative fan engagement and monetization, empowering artists and rights owners.”
Harden Hemmining, Downtown
For Downtown, this agreement with Audius comes as the company prepares to become part of the Universal Music Group family, following a $775 million acquisition that was finalized at the end of last year between UMG and Virgin Music Group.
The deal, which UMG anticipates closing in the second half of 2025, has recently been complicated by the European Union’s regulatory review process.
With four divisions—Artist & Label services, distribution, music publishing, and royalty and financial services—Downtown serves approximately 4 million artists and 5000 business clients in 150 countries, managing the catalogs of influential artists like Meat Loaf, Miles Davis, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono.
Recently, Downtown signed agreements with Neton Vega (for artist and label services), Jason Mraz (for neighboring rights), Pamungkas (one of the company’s service clients), and Cameron Montgomery (for music publishing).
