Audius Forms New Agency to Develop Open Tools for Artists and Creative Economies

• Audius Agency launches to build open-source tools for artists using its SDK.
• Led by Ujo Music co-founder, the agency focuses on real-time, artist-first innovation.
• Past NFT work, including $10M in sales, informs Audius Agency’s creator-driven strategy.

Audius has launched a new internal division called Audius Agency, an experimental initiative focused on creating open-source products for artists using the Audius software development kit (SDK). The move is intended to support real-time innovation across music, technology, and fan culture by enabling creators to access standalone tools outside of traditional streaming frameworks.

The newly formed agency will explore and test novel use cases for the Audius SDK while working directly with artists to understand their evolving needs. The goal is to develop new creative workflows, unlock new monetization models, and expand the artist economy through decentralized infrastructure.

The Audius Agency will be led by a former co-founder of Ujo Music, a pioneering blockchain music project that launched the first consumer-facing Ethereum-based music app in 2015. Ujo was originally built as a proof of concept but shaped early conversations around decentralized music rights, digital ownership, and programmable royalties.

That experience forms the foundation for the new leadership role. Over nearly a decade, the Ujo co-founder worked toward a vision of an open, artist-first digital economy. While Ujo did not scale globally, it contributed foundational ideas that remain relevant as artists and fans seek more equitable platforms for creative exchange.

According to the new agency head, the future of music platforms will likely differ from traditional models like Spotify and SoundCloud. Instead, permissionless innovation, real-time rewards, and fan empowerment will define the next generation of tools and services. Audius Agency aims to be a testing ground for that transformation.

Bridging the Gap Between Web3 and Music

Before joining Audius, the new agency head also co-founded Six, a Web3-focused company that guided artists through the NFT market. Six was involved in notable transactions such as the sale of Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-one album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” and supported NFT drops from high-profile artists including Freddie Mercury, Diplo, and Galantis. Those efforts generated more than $10 million in NFT revenue while exposing limitations in cthe urrent Web3 music infrastructure.

The lessons from that period highlighted a growing demand for better tools, artist ownership, and community-driven economics. However, the new Audius Agency will respond to those gaps by working with creators and fans in real time to identify practical use cases, build fast, and scale successful experiments into repeatable models.

Existing Platform to Serve as Launchpad

Audius currently supports over 3 million monthly listeners and has distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to artists. The agency’s launch is expected to build on this ecosystem by introducing independent features that enhance creator capabilities.

By partnering directly with creatives, testing in public, and iterating quickly, Audius Agency plans to create infrastructure that reflects real-world needs. Rather than assuming what artists require, the initiative will operate through ongoing engagement and prototype development.