Tamago

Tamago operates as a decentralized music streaming platform, positioning itself as a challenger to the established models in the digital audio market. Founded in 2022 and based in Switzerland, the company leverages blockchain technology to address the persistent issue of inequitable revenue distribution in the music industry. The firm secured $1 million in a seed funding round on May 25, 2022, with participation from investors including Big Brain Holdings, Lyrik Ventures, Daedalus, and Block0.

The company was co-founded by Clarian, an electronic music artist, and a developer named Jeff. Clarian's background includes direct experience with the music industry's challenges and early adoption of Web3 technologies, having been cited as one of the first artists to release an album as an NFT. This experience informs the platform's core mission: to create a system that redirects revenue back to creators. The founding team combines expertise from audio engineering, music production, and blockchain development to build a platform that is artist-centric.

Tamago's business model is a hybrid, integrating NFT technology with music streaming on the NEAR public blockchain. This infrastructure was chosen for its high transaction speed, low costs, and carbon-neutral footprint, which are critical for scaling a streaming service. The platform allows artists to upload their tracks, mint them as NFTs, and sell them directly to fans. A key feature is the ability for artists to set their own price-per-stream and define royalty splits for their work, offering a level of control not found on traditional platforms. Revenue is generated for artists through direct streams, which are funded by community pools and donations, and through the sale of their music NFTs. The platform is designed to eliminate intermediaries, ensuring a more direct financial flow from listeners to creators.

The service targets independent artists and their fanbases, providing tools for direct engagement and community building without advertisements. For listeners, Tamago offers a platform to discover music and directly support artists. Fans can purchase tracks as NFTs and even curate their own monetized playlists, earning a share of revenue based on the royalty structure set by the artist. By July 2022, the platform had attracted 700 regular users and hosted 1,000 tracks. Tamago also organizes international music events to foster community growth and bridge the gap between local music scenes and the blockchain space.

Keywords: decentralized music, NFT music, NEAR blockchain, artist royalties, Web3 streaming, direct-to-fan, music monetization, crypto music, blockchain audio, independent artists, Clarian, digital collectibles, creator economy, peer-to-peer music, decentralized audio, streaming revenue, music NFTs, asset-backed tokens, digital music marketplace, blockchain entertainment