Audius is a new company positioning itself as a direct competitor to SoundCloud, aiming to attract emerging artists with a free platform and zero takedowns. The startup has $5.5 million in venture capital funding, and is being supported by notable DJ talents such as Deadmau5, who is on Audius’ advisory board. It launched its public beta today.
“It was SoundCloud’s opportunity to lose and now it’s ours,” CEO Roneil Rumberg said.
Once a free-for-all of performers, DJs, and audio creations, SoundCloud has been adopting tighter policies in response to pressure from major labels. The platform launched a paid subscription program for ad-free listening and introduced advertisements, monetization tools, and limits on uploads.
As with any startup, getting both artists and listeners to actually use the platform is the first major challenge for the company. Despite the aggressive posturing that it will fill SoundCloud’s grassroots shoes, Audius has some hurdles to uptake. It is relying on independent hosting to protect it from those copyright lawsuits, but it’s unclear whether that defense would hold up under a legal charge. It is also launching its own cryptocurrency, which could be a deterrent for more cautious artists, even with the promise that 90% of the company’s eventual revenue will be distributed to performers. It is launching with a small library and has no mobile apps.
No mobile apps? There went another $5M.