Music streaming platform Audius has awarded a series of exclusive Thugbirdz NFTs worth more than $100,000 to the winners of its recent rapper/vocalist competition.

Hosted on Audius last month, participants battled it out to win an ‘Audiux x Thugbirdz’ NFT in addition to five original Thugbirdz NFTs.

In line with Audius’ vision to provide a platform for unsigned artists to monetise their work and make it discoverable by tight-knit communities of fans, the site has engaged 400 artists within the music space to take part in the event.

Austin Virts, head of crypto marketing at Audius, said the company decided to go with Thugbirdz as a partner because of the way they have been able to showcase the true value of community.

The contest gave many up-and-coming artists an opportunity to present their talents to a supportive community and heighten the exposure of their brand.

“Our goal for the platform is to provide access to all artists to be able to get paid fairly for their creative work, not just those who have been signed by big labels,” he said.

“We’ve been inspired by the way the Thugbirdz team has been able to come together to create true value for their community and holders.”

The top five winners were handed Thugbirdz originals. The runners-up received copies of the collaborative NFT from the Audius and Thugbirdz teams, which are now listed on the secondary marketplace for NFTs, DigitalEyes (collection). During only the first 24 hours, the collection saw $30,000 in volume.

As part of the contest, participants uploaded their tracks and tagged them as a remix on Audius, which allows musicians to upload music content for free, thereby helping them to build a fan base on the platform and monetise their work.

Main image: Roneil Rumburg, co-founder and CEO at Audius, with Forrest Browning, Audius co-founder and chief product officer.