Streaming music is becoming a normal thing for Internet goers now that the streaming music radio is no longer on the chopping block (as often) with Pandora and Spotify making headlines. Many of these ventures maintain themselves with advertisements and subscribers; but this week Earbits–a music streaming site of 3 years running–has announced that they’re implementing a different approach: social currency.

The social currency is called a “Groovie” and according to Earbits, the currency is earned by users when they interact with artists, bands, and marketing companies trying to connect with listeners. As Groovies are accrued, they can be spent on quality-of-life upgrades to the site such as on-demand listening to songs that the listener finds interesting.

From the press release,

At launch, users can earn 500 Groovies by opening an account, 100 for sharing music recommendations on Facebook and Twitter, and 50 Groovies for joining artists’ official Facebook fan pages or e-mailing lists.  Groovies can then be redeemed 10 at a time for access to each on-demand song.

The best case for social currency comes from free-to-play games such as Star Trek Online and Guild Wars 2 who sell virtual items in cash shops as well as quality-of-life services for what’s called “freemium” currencies. These currencies can be bought for microtrasactions as well as for in-game gold, earned by playing the game. In the case of Earbits, the social currency is earned by using the system for what it’s meant to do: connect listeners with bands.

In gaming, the ability to buy quality-of-life services or virtual items is an enticement for players to spend money on the currency; in the case of Earbits, the enticement is largely social.

Since listeners will earn Groovies by interacting with artists–hooking up to their Facebook page, following their Twitter account, favoriting their music.

Right now, the Groovie system is at the bare minimum–listeners can earn them and spend them on on-demand music.

However, plans are being fomented to bring the social currency into an entire ecosystem that favors the ability for listeners to earn them.

I recently spoke to Earbits CEO Jorey Flores and he outlined some of the spaces that the currency could expand into.

While Groovies do very little right now, Flores foresees them being extremely valuable to listeners including buying into sweepstakes and receiving coupons for discounts on merchandise. It’s also envisioned that “lifetime karma” would be tracked–a sort of lifetime total contribution of Groovies earned by a listener.

“100,000 karma might give a special-looking profile,” Flores said opining about potential rewards for such long-term loyalty.

Included in this, artists would be able to reward their top Groovie earners as well (another form of loyalty reward and listener retention.)

In the future, if enough interest is shown, the Groovie might also be bought with microtransaction currency providing a flow of money. Earbits would particularly like this system to benefit their artists and expect to dedicate some portion of the revenue made directly to artists–based on what songs the listeners spend it on to play on-demand or listen to.

“If there’s enough interest in that fro the listeners it’s something that we might consider,” Flores said when asked about the possibility, “and all the revenue that is brought in through buying Groovies will be passed through to the artists.”

This would bring the currency-system full circle, giving not just an incentive for listeners to earn Groovies, but also to reward artists for having popular songs on the site.