Announcing the Ujo Alpha

When Ujo was born the dream was simple: we wanted to use Ethereum to get musicians paid more. Two years after launching our prototype with Imogen Heap, we’re ready to release our first product that steps towards that dream.

We explored monetary flows and rights attributions in the current supply chain and one thing was clear. The current music business does not serve budding artists. Registering with a performing rights society, finding a publisher, a manager, releasing with a label, and giving up ownership of your work all seemed like inefficient barriers to entry for aspiring musicians.

All of these services provide undeniable value to established musicians, but they ignore an ecosystem where musicians need nothing more than a computer and internet connection to interact with their fans. At the core of a music group is the music itself. Services like SoundCloud and Bandcamp have provided tools for musicians to grow a fanbase and sell their music directly. We recognize this but believe income for musicians doesn’t end with selling their music.

In the future digital ecosystem we envision artists will not only be able to sell their music directly, but also have a place to build a career for themselves. We believe fans should be acknowledged for their monetary participation with musicians, and have a persistent record of it too. Beyond that, we’ve been working hard on a backend engine where any developer can plugin and build on this infrastructure.

In November we will be releasing what we’ve been calling the “Creator’s Portal.” This first product release will enable a musician to register themselves with Ujo, register their music, and provide an online shop for them to share their releases and accept ether in return. It’s simple, but it’s a start. Our plan is to work with a group of individuals and quickly iterate features based on feedback, constantly updating and improving our user experience.

Beyond this release, we have a lot of work to do. Opening our registration to the public, creating an application for fans where they can navigate between artist shops, and relentlessly adding features are a few of our immediate priorities. Right now we’re starting with the core of the problem by solving remuneration of the music, quickly and transparently. That is just the beginning.

If you want to apply to the private alpha, start by filling out this form.