Fenix, a startup empowering independent artists and fans with blockchain distributed ledger technology, today announced the launch of its blockchain-based platform intended to give indie musicians a fighting chance.

The company also announced the launch of its cryptocurrency, the Fenix token, on sky.io, a wallet and exchange for blockchain assets.

Using the platform and its token, artists anywhere can build their own band app using the web-based platform in under 20 minutes and fans can reward the artists they enjoy with Fenix tokens.

Bands using the Fenix app can control their online presence and receive comprehensive analytics of user engagement from an easy-to-understand dashboard. The web-based app features everything an aspiring band would want: a video player, an audio player for music, social media integration, merchandising, ticketing and interviews.

“Nobody has really provided meaningful support to nonfamous artists,” says Allan Klepfisz, chairman and chief executive of Fenix. “We are sincerely dedicating ourselves to do so, on multiple fronts — by providing a means of significantly increasing their revenue, by constantly adding effective tools to improve their business.”

Fans can navigate through every artist’s app on the platform and with Fenix tokens purchase band merchandise and concert tickets. Fans can also donate to bands that they support in order to keep them on tour and in the recording studio.

One important element of Fenix’s platform is that artists keep a minimum of 80% of their proceeds from music. That’s possible because the startup uses blockchain-technology to eschew middlemen in an attempt to rebalance music industry dynamics between musicians and fans by putting fan involvement directly in the hands of artists.

According to Digital Music News, more than 90% of artists go undiscovered, and those who do succeed often take home only 12% of the money the music industry makes. This leaves a significant number of artists struggling not only to succeed but also to put food on the table.

“Today, it is harder than ever for artists to earn the money they deserve,” says Lance Ford, founder and president of Fenix. “Solutions to help artists need new thinking, both literal and lateral. Our blockchain-powered app offers smart and simple functionality, returning artists’ control over their music, image and message. Fenix puts artists in charge, empowering them to communicate directly with their fans.”

Built on the Ethereum public blockchain, Fenix will mint a maximum of 2.79 billion tokens and keep them in circulation. To demonstrate the startup’s dedication to helping aspiring artists, Fenix will offer 180 million tokens as grants to bands in the first two years of business. This will take place in two grant rounds of 90 million each.

Today, fans can download the Fenix app on iOS and Android and check out a variety of indie music artists already climbing on board.

Photo: Pixabay