How data ownership redefines the relationship between artists and fans

Episode 76 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro, Audius Co-Founder Roneil Rumburg and Grammy award winning DJ and Audius Advisor, RAC.

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Over the course of the past two decades, Grammy Award-winning DJ, André Allen Anjos (also known as RAC) has noticed a growing trend.

"There's been a trend since 2005 in the MySpace era, and all of that has been a trend towards sovereignty of an artist, of putting the artists on top," he says.

RAC is an advisor to Audius — a decentralized music streaming platform that raised $5 million last September from big names including Coinbase Ventures and Pantera Capital, along with popular artists such as Jason Derulo and Katy Perry.

In this episode of The Scoop, RAC and Audius Co-Founder and CEO Roneil Rumburg examine the limitations of centralized music streaming platforms and explain how data ownership in web3 allows artists to redefine their relationship to their fans. 

Rumburg argues that centralized streaming platforms prevent artists from establishing a direct connection with their fanbase.

"There shouldn't be this sense of 'platform lock-in' that we have today on Spotify or places like that where, as a creator, you don't really know who your fans are, and you don't have the ability to port that fan base between experiences."

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RAC has first-hand experience with this problem: while the DJ has 5.5 million followers on SoundCloud, his fanbase is "locked" into the platform. Artists "don't own that connection in any way," he says.

Audius is designed to avoid that, according to Rumburg.

"Our company could go away tomorrow, and all of this would keep working… From the artist's perspective, there's no lock in here. You can take your following and your data that you have here and use it anywhere else."

During this episode, Chaparro, RAC, and Rumburg also discuss:

  • How token price affects user growth
  • Recovering from the $AUDIO hack
  • RAC's personal crypto journey

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen

About Chainalysis
Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

About IWC Schaffhausen
IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Authors

Davis Quinton is the Director of Podcasts at The Block and runs our flagship podcast called The Scoop, hosted by Frank Chaparro. Since joining The Block as an 'intern' in early 2022, he has worked closely with leaders across departments to translate The Block's written content into engaging multimedia formats. He holds a degree in Social Research & Public Policy from New York University in Abu Dhabi and is based in Sydney, Australia.
Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].