Audius Hompage P
1). What do you think about the presence of the Audius platform in the music industry?
Audius is a decentralized and open-source platform running on the Ethereum network. Its mainnet was first launched in September 2019 with Roneil Rumburg and Forrest Browning as founders. Because it is a platform where users can freely upload and stream audio content, it has been deemed by many as Spotify Rival . Its main goal is to bring music to the blockchain. We can all testify that only a minuscule percentage of the money that flows into the music industry goes to the artists themselves, the rest is being siphoned by record labels and centralized streaming platforms like Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Music, and many others.
Audius intends to solve this issue by being a decentralized platform where artists can upload their content directly to the platform without passing through any third party entity. This will link the artists directly to their listeners by cutting out the existence of intermediaries and record labels. Full control of the monitization of content is given to the users. They can decide to either stream their content free or sell it. All of these are a result of the decentralized nature of the platform.
I believe that, if the platform is maintained very well, it will grow to become one of the biggest music distribution platforms. Good marketing and more upgrades to the user interface of the platform will attract more artists and users to the platform, and it will gain mainstream adoption.
They have partnered with some prominent artists, producers, record managers, and other important personalities in the blockchain as the Audius board of advisors. Some of them include Deadmau5,RAC Adam Goldberg, Tom Schmidt, Greg Hazel, Ash Pournouri, and many others. They also signed a partnership with TikToc, one of the leading social media platforms, so that users can directly link to music from Audius in their videos.
All these are signs that Audius will be a game changer in the music industry, just like the way other blockchain projects have taken over the gaming industry. If the platform is marketed well, we will see more prominent artists join the platform, and the userbase will increase. It is a big chance for artists who are not signed to any record label. They will all join to have their music streamed. I can see a bright future for Audius as it tends to give musicians the silver plater opportunity to stream their content directly to their fanbase with ease.
2). With the governance system used by Audius, do you think that system has made Audius a fair and fully decentralized platform? If not, please provide your personal suggestions for the system that Audius uses to make it more fair and decentralized.
Changes are ordained to the Audius through on-chain proposals. These changes can only be made by holders of the AUDIO token, the native token of Audius. This process, like in any other blockchain project, is the governance of the project. It is through the governance process that the community of Audius users make changes with regards to the development of the platform. This makes the platform in a decentralized manner. As a blockchain project, the governance process should be fully transparent with no form of centralization.
Proposals are first posted on their disord governance chanell. It will then be posted on the Audius forum for discussion and review before being voted on onchain.After thorough discussion in the forum, they will post the proposal to the Governance Tab for voting.
The Governance Tab contains results for all the previous and active proposals. As I previously stated, voting is done by users who own some amount of AUDIO tokens.Before a proposal is rendered valid on Audius, at least 5% of the staked AUDIO token should participate in voting, and it has to receive more than 50% of the votes supporting the proposition.
A governance system is also employed in validating transactions on the network with interconnected node operators. Before a transaction is recorded on the blockchain, it has to be validated by these node operators. Before a user is qualified to be a node operator, he/she must have a minimum stake of 20,000 AUDIO and a PC that meets the requirements to perform the node's operations. I think the government system for Audius is enough as a decentralized project. It has given its users the power to take decisions, and that is what decentralization is all about.
3). Explain how to do 2 types of staking on Audius complete with illustrations. (Image Required)
As discussed above, Audius users can stake their AUDIO holdings on the platform. This is a form of investment and, at the same time, a way of contributing to the network's development, as stakers earn governance power and staking rewards. There are also some exclusive features on the platform for those who have staked. There are two forms of staking options in Audius. Users with a larger amount of $AUDIO can choose to stake as node operators. To do this, they also need to have a powerful PC that meets the requirements of a node operator.
The other staking option is to stake as a normal user. Before you are able to stake as a client or user, you have to choose a node operator under which you'll stake. A predetermined number of tokens should be delegated to that operator. Those who stake under this section are able to have access to some services, and they also earn staking rewards with the nodes.
Connecting my wallet to Audius
As a dApp, I first have to connect the platform to my wallet. The following are the steps I took to connect the wallet.
First of all, i clicked on connect Metamask on the top left of audius.co.
Connecting Audius to MetamaskOn the next page, I clicked on Open Metamask to open my Metamask Chrome Extention.
Connecting Audius to Metamask
- I then followed the steps in my Metamask wallet to confirm the connection of the wallet to audius.co
Connecting Audius to Metamask
- It can be seen on the top left corner that my wallet is connected successfully. I can then proceed with the staking.
Connecting Audius to Metamask
Process of Staking as an artist
To stake as an artist or a normal user, I have to delegate my stake to a node operator. In my case, I am delegating to the node operator named Figment, with the ID of 0xc1f351FE81dFAcB3541e59177AC71Ed237BD15D0
I toggled to services on the dashboard of Audius.
I selected the service operator that I will be delegating my stake to.
process of delegating as a client
The next page was opened with information about the node operator, which included its minimum delegation, amount of AUDIO staked, minimum and maximum allowed to stake under the service, and other important information about the service. I then clicked on DELEGATE
Process of delegating as a client
I then had to enter the amount of AUDIO I'd be delegating. The minimum amount for delegation here i 5000 AUDIO, I clicked on DELEGATE . After that, I clicked on Confirm with Metamask . My Metamask wallet will then be open for me to confirm the transaction.
process of delegating as a client in Audius
The staking process ends after I confirm the wallet. In my case, the transaction fees required for this transaction were $23.5, which is adjustable. I didn't have enough balance in my wallet to confirm the stake.
Confirming the staking on my Metamask
Staking as a Service Operator Process
Service operators are the highest stakers on Audius. You have to have a huge amount of AUDIO tokens and your PC should meet some requirements to be able to stake as a service operator. The following is the process I followed in trying to stake as a service operator.
I opened the dashboard of [Audius] (https://dashboard.audius.org). Under the overview, i clicked on Register New Service.
process of staking as a service operator audius.co
Here, I had to choose whether to register as a content node operator or a discovery node operator. I entered the amount of Audius tokens to stake by maintaining the minimum amount required, thus; 20,000 AUDIO tokens. I then filled in the necessary inputs and clicked on Register Service.
process of staking as a service operator in Audius.co
On the next page, I clicked on Confirm with Metamask. The rest of the process involves confirming the transaction in my Metamask wallet.
Process of staking as a serviceoperator Audius
4). Show the steps to create an account on Audius. (Screenshot Required)
I can access Audius via both mobile and PC, I created an account through the web version of the Audius platform. The following are the steps I took to create my account.
First of all, I opened the link [https://audius.co] to access the web version of the Audius platform. I clicked on Sign up
Signing up in Audius
There are two methods of signing up on Audius. They include: signing up with email and signing up with Metamask, which is not recommended. I entered my email in the input section to sign up with my email address.
Signing up in Audius
I created my password by entering the password and confirming it. I clicked on Continue to proceed with the sign up.
Signing up in Audius
I can connect my social media handle to Audius so that my data will be taken directly. But I rather decide to input my personal data directly by clicking on I'd rather fill out my profile manually. I then uploaded my profile picture and entered my display name and handle name on the next page, then clicked on continue.
Signing up in Audius
Before getting started, I had to follow a minimum of three users, I followed three users and clicked on Continue.
Signing up in Audius
Now my account is ready. I can upload and listen to music on Audius.
Signing up in Audius
My Audius profile
Signing up in Audius
Explore and explain the features available on the Audius application or website. (Screenshot Required)
There are so many features on the Audius platform. I have explored them with the Audius Android app. I have explained some of the main features of the Audius platform below.
When you open the Audius Application, the main features can be spotted at the bottom of the application, as seen in the screenshot below.
The main features from the left include:
Your Feed
Trending
Explore
Favorites
User Profile
Your Feed
Main features in Audius
This is the first main feature on the bottom left of the app. This page contains users' post on the platform. If you want to view other people's posts, you can visit their feeds. You can click on All Posts to customize your views to only reposts or original posts. You will see more posts if you scroll down here.
Trending
Main features in Audius
To see what is trending on Audius, you can visit the trending page. As seen in the picture, You can view the trending songs of the week under This week, trending songs of the month under This month and even the trending songs of the year. You can choose the genres of songs you like by clicking on All Genres.
Explore
Main features in Audius
This page contains most of the interesting features on the platform. The first thing you'll see on the explore page is FOR YOU, It contains some content that has been arranged based on the users' likings. It contains a lot of playlists and remixes that users can enjoy. Next is MOODs, here, users can enjoy playlists that are sorted by their mood and feel. There are also some featured playlists and artists, and all can be seen under the Playlists and Artists pages on Explore.
Favorites
Main features in Audius
This page contains tracks, albums, and playlists that have been marked as favorites by the user. If you like a song or a playlist, you can favorite it so that you'll easily see it on the favorites page.
User Profile
Main features in Audius
This can be spotted at the bottom right corner of the Audius mobile app. It contains all the information about a user's profile. including his/her followers, playlists, followings, tracks uploaded, reposts, and playlists. A user can edit his/her profile here.
Notifications
The notification icon is at the top left corner of the Audius app. A user can view all notifications by clicking on the notification icon.
Search bar
It is at the top left corner of the application. A user can search for tracks, albums, playlists, artists, etc. using the search icon.
6). Explain in detail how the mechanism of uploading music content on Audius.
The upload mechanism of Audius follows a similar process as in proof of work mining. The operation involves two types of nodes, thus, content and discovery nodes.
In the first place, the uploaded content goes to the content node. The content node will first decrypt the data and then return a hash code that will be used to reference the encrypted data. The data will then be replicated, and the duplicates will be sent across other content nodes on the network. The new track will then be identified with metadata attached to it.
It will then be broadcast throughout the network in the form of an on-chain transaction with a signal that a new track has been added to the network. The discovery nodes will then pick up the transaction and index it. The upload will then be marked complete by the discovery node and it will be displayed to the artist with an indication that the transcation was successful. The track will then be ready for streaming.
Illustrations
Image Source
7). Upload your original music to Audius and show the proof using a block explorer. (Screenshot Required)
I first of all visited my profile through the web version of Audius. On my profile, i clicked on upload music
Uploadig music on Audius
I then clicked on upload tracks, to upload the music file from my PC . I selected the track from my files and clicked open
Uploadig music on Audius
The file was selected, i then have to click continue on Audius to proceed
Uploadig music on Audius
Next is to edit data about the file including it's Discription and cover image
Uploadig music on Audius
Afterwards, the process was completed. I just need to wait for it to be processed
Uploadig music on Audius
Conclusion
Audius is really going to bring the attention of music lovers to the blockchain. I believe with more development on the platform, it is going to face a mainstream adoption both artists and music listeners will benefit alot from this platform due to the functionalities it is built upon. This lecture was indeed a wonderful one, i have learnt alot through preparing this assignment. I'll thank professor
@wahyunahrul for this lecture. Thank for reading!
NB: All images used in this article are Screenshots from www.audius.co and www.audius.org