Audiomack launches ‘Sponsored Songs’ for artists as alternative to streaming fraud

Music streaming and discovery platform Audiomack is rolling out a new feature to allow artists to pay to promote their music directly to targeted audiences.

Launched in 2012, Audiomack is a platform where artists and labels can share their music free of charge. No premium accounts are needed to access features like unlimited storage, advanced analytics, and professional tools to manage artists’ careers. But for listeners who want an enhanced experience, Audiomack offers a $6.99/month mobile subscription that removes ads, unlocks high-fidelity playback, and provides access to a range of advanced features.

Audiomack’s new feature for artists, called ‘Sponsored Songs,’ combines targeted advertising with the platform’s recommendation algorithm. Artists can specify their ideal audience by location and genre, and the algorithm places their songs strategically within those listeners’ queues, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday (July 23).

Audiomack emphasizes transparency with Sponsored Songs. Artists receive upfront estimates of play counts based on their budget and targeting choices. It’s designed to be an alternative to the dubious third-party “marketing” services that inflate play counts.

“Paying for black market ‘streams’ can lead to the removal of your music and the loss of access to your artist profile. It’s just not a viable long-term strategy,” said Brian Zisook, EVP of Global Operations at Audiomack.

“What artists must understand is that you can buy a billion streams and make it look like you’ve made it, but what does that number mean if you can’t sell out a show or build a genuine fanbase?”

“By offering a safe and authorized promotion tool as an official partner, we aim to empower creators further to rise to the top.”

David Ponte, Audiomack

Sponsored Songs offer flexibility for both campaign timing and funding. Artists can schedule campaigns in advance to maximize impact around a new release.

Additionally, they can choose to fund their promotion using either their existing Audiomack Monetization Program (AMP) earnings or external payment methods like debit or credit cards. This caters to artists at all stages of their careers, allowing even those without a substantial AMP balance to participate.

The Audiomack Monetization Program lets artists earn money directly from their music on Audiomack. This income can be used to fuel their career and reach music fans actively seeking new artists on the platform.

“Audiomack’s primary goal is to provide artists a global platform to grow and reach new ears,” Audiomack CMO David Ponte said. “By offering a safe and authorized promotion tool as an official partner, we aim to empower creators further to rise to the top.”

To use Sponsored Songs, artists have to first complete the creator authentication process on Audiomack. Once verified, they can initiate campaigns through the Creator App or the web-based Creator Dashboard.

This new feature marks Audiomack’s latest offering to artists after launching a new promotional tool called ‘Connect Tab’ last year. This feature lets artists send a direct message to all their followers.

In February 2022, Audiomack launched a ‘Creator App’ to give musicians access to a range of analytics tools.

That same year, Audiomack rolled out a feature called ‘Premiere Access‘ that enables artists to reward their biggest fans with early access to not-yet-officially-released music, and a monetization tool called ‘Supporters,’ which lets fans fund artists directly by purchasing ‘support badges’ for individual song and album releases.

Earlier this year, Audiomack teamed up with Merlin, digital rights music licensing partner for indie record labels, distributors and other rightsholders. Through the partnership, Merlin’s members will “gain access to Audiomack’s global audience of engaged listeners, thereby expanding the digital footprint of Merlin members’ high quality music,” the two companies said in April.

Music Business Worldwide