Audius has introduced a new feature that lets verified artists on its decentralized music platform create their own crypto coins. Built on the Solana blockchain, the new “Artist Coins” allow creators to reward fans directly through custom tokens tied to exclusive perks such as unreleased music, private Discord access, in-app badges, and direct artist messages.
The feature arrives alongside the rollout of Audius 1.0, a major upgrade to the platform’s underlying Open Audio Protocol. The redesigned protocol brings a modernized architecture for media retrieval and metadata management, with native support for the industry-standard DDEX format — enabling integrations with partners like DistroKid, Warner Chappell Music, and Downtown Music.
According to Audius co-founder and CEO Roneil Rumburg, the feature represents a long-term milestone for the company. “There have been challenges and missteps in the artist community on how to make Artist Coins work up until now,” he said. “We believe our approachable user experience and the rich functionality around Artist Coins make for a holistic experience the market has been missing.”
Around 25 verified artists have been selected to launch their own tokens during the initial phase. Each coin is paired with Audius’ native $AUDIO token in on-chain liquidity, with artists earning 50% of trading fees and receiving 50% of their coin’s total supply over a five-year unlock period.
The update also extends to infrastructure, with the new Open Audio Protocol enabling scalable storage and streaming through staked $AUDIO validators. Technical documentation for developers and creators is available at openaudio.org.
