ANDREW ANTAR CREATED TUNE.FM TO HELP ARTISTS MONETIZE THEIR WORK
Andrew Antar took his passion for music and entrepreneurship and has created a platform that puts the power back into artists hands. Tune.Fm is a platform that every artists should know about. If you’ve ever wondered why it’s important to be able to take control of your content and monetizing your craft, keep reading to learn all about Andrew and Tune.FM!
Where did the idea for the Tune.Fm platform stem from?
I’ve been a classically trained violinist my whole life, playing on albums, with orchestras, winning competitions, and touring globally. When I was at Brown University, I noticed the need for a musician directory, so I created “Musicians at Brown” — a simple Google form where students could list their instruments, genres, and goals.
It quickly gained traction, with 4,000 sign-ups in a week, you could really see the activity, people were messaging each other non-stop, and it evolved into a campus-wide music platform. That planted the seed to create Tune.FM. The original idea was to build a next-gen MySpace for music—a platform where musicians and artists could connect, share their work, upload content, and engage directly with fans.
Around the same time, I got into crypto and started mining Bitcoin, and I saw the potential to tokenize and monetize music. It took time for the technology to catch up, but eventually we found Hedera Hashgraph, and we were able to create a token system that lets artists earn micropayments for every second their music is streamed, along with the ability to tokenize digital assets, and sell them to fans. Then things evolved from there and it became Tune.FM
How can artists benefit from using your platform?
We are putting the power back in the hands of the artists, democratizing music. We are the new business model for the music industry, doing right by artists. We are by artists for artists. Think of Tune.FM like a music monetization machine, where you can upload your music and get paid instantly for every stream that happens on the platform at a rate of 100x Spotify.
You can also do drops of collectibles with experiences like backstage passes, meet and greets, FaceTime calls, merch bundles, and monetize your superfans. So artists can really unlock all the value in their fan base, and then get paid what they deserve for streaming.
In your opinion, what will be the future of streaming platforms since the popularity of AI continues to grow?
I believe people are starting to feel like Spotify is getting stale—its UI is outdated, and the algorithm isn’t as smart as it could be. The future of streaming is more interactive and personalized. Tune.FM takes this to the next level, we are curating music based on your mood with highly specific prompts, similar to how ChatGPT works but delivering you music instead of text or images. It’s a more engaging, tailored experience that evolves with you.
Talk to us about “Summer Of Love” your exclusive two-part compilation project on Tune.Fm?
“Summer of Love” is an exciting two-part compilation featuring exclusive, never-before-heard tracks from iconic legacy artists like Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, The Who, Carlos Santana, Elvis, and others from that era. Some of the songs are alternate or rare unreleased versions, making this a milestone release. We started with 15-second music previews accompanied by stunning music and video NFTs, giving fans a unique collectible experience. The full album will be available for streaming soon, so it’s definitely something special for music lovers and collectors to look forward to exclusively on Tune.FM.
What is a $Jam Token and how is your token unique to any other on the market?
The $JAM token is a token for music streaming, similar to credits for a jukebox, but with much more value. Unlike a meme token; $JAM has real utility and real purpose. You can use it to stream music, unlock exclusive experiences, and more. What makes JAM unique is that we pay artists instantly for every stream, and they earn up to 100 times more than they would on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music. $JAM is truly the official currency of music, and we are creating a global marketplace where artists and fans can connect, engage, and transact directly.
Besides all the new features coming to Tune.Fm, what are some features you’d like to implement in the future?
One of the most exciting projects we’re working on is the Jamfest Metaverse—a fully immersive VR experience where you can attend festivals and live shows with friends, no matter where you are in the world. You’ll be able to watch live streams of real festivals and artists can book virtual stages to perform metaverse concerts. We’re planning different-sized venues for various genres and performance types, with unique lighting, motion capture, 3D avatars, and more. It’s all about creating new, innovative ways for fans to experience live music in a virtual space.
What’s next for your streaming platform?
We’re doing drops with some of the biggest celebrities in the world. We’re onboarding the major label music catalogs, everything that’s on Spotify and Apple Music will also be in Tune.FM, plus everything that’s not there. We’re doing more live interactive features: live DJ rooms, jam rooms, metaverse interactive spaces and fully immersive VR experiences.
TEAM CREDITS:
Editor-in-Chief: Prince Chenoa (@princechenoastudio)
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
