For Music Fans

Get the immersive experience.

On most platforms, your music is a stream — compressed, licensed, rented. AudioMama allows you to download the original recording uncompressed at 96kHz/32-bit resolution or greater. Yours to keep. And you can offer to support the artist with 'pay what it's worth', a donation, and/or a kind message to the artist. Monetary support is not mandatory but greatly appreciated! All going to the artist, minus payment processing fees. We are a genocide-free organization with no ties to companies or investors involved with harming or surveilling human beings.

Compared to every other platform.

A sourced comparison of AudioMama against Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, SoundCloud, and Bandcamp — across artist payout, audio quality, fan ownership, payout speed, and investor ethics.

Exact ownership chains and investment flows are often complex and partially hidden. Private investment vehicles, undisclosed funds, and indirect ownership through holding companies obscure the full picture of corporate financial relationships.

This comparison documents only what is publicly verifiable — through SEC filings, US Department of Defense designation records, UN Human Rights Council reports, and established journalism citing primary documents. Claims that cannot be sourced this way are omitted. The connections below should be read as a floor, not a ceiling — the universe of unproven connections is almost certainly larger than what public records reveal.

Comparison of music platforms across seven dimensions including investor ethics. Last updated May 2026.
Platform Per-stream rate to artists Artist revenue share Audio quality Fan ownership Payout speed Cost to join Investor Ethics
Spotify $0.003–$0.0051 approx. 70% to rights holders1 320 kbps Ogg Vorbis Streaming only 30–90 days Distributor fee ⚑ Founder funds defense AI
⚑ Tencent shareholder (DoD-flagged) "There's an enormous realisation that it's really now AI, mass and autonomy that is driving the new battlefield." — Daniel Ek to FT, June 2025.5 Co-founder & former CEO Daniel Ek personally led a $694M / €600M investment in defense-AI company Helsing in June 2025, on top of an earlier €100M in 2021. Helsing builds AI software for military drones and autonomous strike systems. Ek is chairman of Helsing's board.5 Following sustained artist boycotts including Massive Attack, Deerhoof, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Ek announced he would step down as CEO in January 2026.6 Tencent Holdings owns ~9% of Spotify and was added to the US Department of Defense Section 1260H "Chinese Military Companies" list on 2 January 2025.7
Apple Music approx. $0.012 approx. 52% to rights holders2 256 kbps AAC, ALAC lossless Streaming only 30–45 days Distributor fee ⚑ UN-named shareholders
⚑ Weapons / surveillance exposure Apple Inc.'s largest institutional shareholders are Vanguard (~9.6%) and BlackRock (~7.7%) as of Q4 2025 13F filings.8 Both BlackRock and Vanguard are named in UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese's June 2025 report "From economy of occupation to economy of genocide" as top shareholders in companies the report identifies as enabling destruction in Gaza — including Lockheed Martin, Palantir, Caterpillar, Microsoft, and Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems.9
Tidal approx. $0.0131 Pro-rata pool FLAC up to 24-bit/192kHz3 Streaming only approx. 45 days $10.99/mo subscription3 ⚑ UN-named shareholders
⚑ Weapons / surveillance exposure Owned by Block, Inc. (formerly Square). Block's largest institutional shareholders include Vanguard (~9%) and BlackRock (~5%) as of mid-2025 13F filings.10 Both are named in the UN Special Rapporteur's June 2025 report on corporate complicity in Gaza as central enablers of the "economy of genocide," with documented positions in major weapons manufacturers and Israeli government bonds.9
SoundCloud ~$0.003–$0.00512 ~55% (fan-powered)12 96 kbit/s AAC — compressed only Streaming only 30–45 days Free / $9/mo Pro ⚑ Weapons manufacturer owner
⚑ State-owned defense investor
⚑ Uses Stripe
⚑ Potential sale — buyer unknown Majority owned by Temasek Holdings — a Singaporean state sovereign wealth fund (US$521B portfolio) that directly owns ST Engineering, ranked in the global top 100 defence manufacturers by SIPRI and described by Temasek itself as "originally a weapon manufacturer set up to supply the Singapore Armed Forces."14 Temasek co-invests with BlackRock (UN-flagged) across at least 11 companies.15 Co-controlling investor The Raine Group (New York merchant bank). Minor stakeholder SiriusXM has Vanguard and BlackRock as top institutional shareholders. Payment processing via Stripe — subject of an active Tech4Palestine boycott campaign. Raine Group and Temasek began a ~$1 billion sale process for SoundCloud in 2024; the identity of any future buyer is currently unknown.13
Bandcamp N/A (download model) 85%4 FLAC, WAV, ALAC Fan owns file Immediate Free ⚑ Indirect Tencent exposure
⚑ Former Epic Games ownership Owned by Songtradr (acquired from Epic Games, October 2023). Epic Games — Bandcamp's owner from 2022 to 2023 — remains an investor in Songtradr.11 Epic Games is approximately 40% owned by Tencent Holdings, which the US Department of Defense designated as a Chinese Military Company under Section 1260H on 2 January 2025.7
AudioMama N/A (download model) 90% 96kHz/32-bit+ lossless Fan owns file Immediate Free (charity) ✓ No institutional investors
✓ No weapons / surveillance ties
✓ No UN-named investors Independently owned. UK charity in formation. Genocide-free by founding principle. Sultrix, the founder, retains sole ownership during Phase 1. The charity's articles of association will publicly commit, upon registration, to never accepting funding from any firm with documented ties to weapons manufacturing, surveillance technology, defense contracting, or activities named in UN reports on conflict financing. Operational disclosure: downloads currently fulfilled via a temporary third-party tool while we build native infrastructure; the third-party processor used in Phase 1 is part of what we are explicitly transitioning away from in Phase 2.

Spotify

Per-stream rate
$0.003–$0.005
Artist revenue share
approx. 70% to rights holders
Audio quality
320 kbps Ogg Vorbis
Fan ownership
Streaming only
Payout speed
30–90 days
Cost to join
Distributor fee
Investor Ethics
⚑ Founder funds defense AI ⚑ Tencent shareholder (DoD-flagged)
Co-founder Daniel Ek personally led a $694M / €600M investment in defense-AI firm Helsing in June 2025; he is chairman of Helsing's board.5 Artist boycott (Massive Attack, Deerhoof, King Gizzard) preceded his September 2025 announcement that he would step down as CEO.6 Tencent owns ~9% of Spotify; designated by US DoD as a Chinese military company in January 2025.7

Apple Music

Per-stream rate
approx. $0.01
Artist revenue share
approx. 52% to rights holders
Audio quality
256 kbps AAC, ALAC lossless
Fan ownership
Streaming only
Payout speed
30–45 days
Cost to join
Distributor fee
Investor Ethics
⚑ UN-named shareholders ⚑ Weapons / surveillance exposure
Apple Inc.'s top institutional shareholders are Vanguard (~9.6%) and BlackRock (~7.7%) per Q4 2025 13F filings.8 Both named in UN Special Rapporteur Albanese's June 2025 report "From economy of occupation to economy of genocide" as top shareholders in Lockheed Martin, Palantir, Caterpillar, Microsoft, and Elbit Systems.9

Tidal

Per-stream rate
approx. $0.013
Artist revenue share
Pro-rata pool
Audio quality
FLAC up to 24-bit/192kHz
Fan ownership
Streaming only
Payout speed
approx. 45 days
Cost to join
$10.99/mo subscription
Investor Ethics
⚑ UN-named shareholders ⚑ Weapons / surveillance exposure
Owned by Block, Inc. (formerly Square). Block's largest institutional shareholders include Vanguard (~9%) and BlackRock (~5%).10 Both named in UN Special Rapporteur Albanese's June 2025 report on corporate complicity in Gaza, with documented positions in weapons manufacturers and Israeli government bonds.9

SoundCloud

Per-stream rate
~$0.003–$0.005
Artist revenue share
~55% (fan-powered model)
Audio quality
96 kbit/s AAC — compressed streaming only
Fan ownership
Streaming only
Payout speed
30–45 days
Cost to join
Free / $9/mo Pro
Investor Ethics
⚑ Weapons manufacturer owner ⚑ State-owned defense investor ⚑ Uses Stripe ⚑ Potential sale — buyer unknown
Majority owned by Temasek Holdings — Singapore's state sovereign wealth fund (US$521B). Temasek directly owns ST Engineering, ranked in the global top 100 defence manufacturers by SIPRI and described by Temasek itself as "originally a weapon manufacturer set up to supply the Singapore Armed Forces."14 Co-invests with BlackRock (UN-flagged) across at least 11 companies.15 Minor stakeholder SiriusXM has Vanguard and BlackRock as top institutional shareholders. Uses Stripe; subject to active Tech4Palestine boycott. Raine Group and Temasek began a ~$1bn sale process in 2024; buyer unknown.13

Bandcamp

Per-stream rate
N/A (download model)
Artist revenue share
85%
Audio quality
FLAC, WAV, ALAC
Fan ownership
Fan owns file
Payout speed
Immediate
Cost to join
Free
Investor Ethics
⚑ Indirect Tencent exposure ⚑ Former Epic Games ownership
Owned by Songtradr (acquired from Epic Games, October 2023). Epic Games — Bandcamp's owner 2022–2023 — remains an investor in Songtradr.11 Epic Games is approximately 40% owned by Tencent Holdings, designated by US DoD as a Chinese military company in January 2025.7

AudioMama

Per-stream rate
N/A (download model)
Artist revenue share
90%
Audio quality
96kHz/32-bit+ lossless
Fan ownership
Fan owns file
Payout speed
Immediate
Cost to join
Free (charity)
Investor Ethics
✓ No institutional investors ✓ No weapons / surveillance ties ✓ No UN-named investors
Independently owned. UK charity in formation. Genocide-free by founding principle. Sultrix, the founder, retains sole ownership during Phase 1. Charity articles will publicly commit, upon registration, to never accept funding from firms with documented ties to weapons manufacturing, surveillance technology, defense contracting, or UN-flagged conflict financing. Disclosure: downloads currently fulfilled via a temporary third-party tool while we build native infrastructure.
A note on the investor ethics column

Exact ownership chains and investment flows are often complex and partially hidden. Private investment vehicles, undisclosed funds, and indirect ownership through holding companies obscure the full picture of corporate financial relationships.

This comparison documents only what is publicly verifiable — through SEC filings, US Department of Defense designation records, UN Human Rights Council reports, and established journalism citing primary documents. Claims that cannot be sourced this way are omitted. The connections below should be read as a floor, not a ceiling — the universe of unproven connections is almost certainly larger than what public records reveal.

What you get as a listener.

Streaming gave the world access to music. It also compressed every song, took ownership away from artists, and reduced your relationship with an album to a temporary license you stop having if your subscription lapses. AudioMama is the alternative.

Quality

The actual master

96kHz/32-bit (or whatever the artist recorded at) — uncompressed WAV or FLAC, identical to the file they exported. Not a re-encoded streaming version.

Ownership

You own it. Forever.

DRM-free downloads. No subscription that can revoke access. The file lives on your devices. Play it in any app, any device, anywhere — even if AudioMama itself disappears tomorrow.

Direct support

90% to the artist.

No label, no distributor, no algorithm taking a slice. When you pay $3 for a track, $2.70 lands in the artist's bank account immediately. That's roughly what 850 Spotify streams would have paid them.

Exclusivity

The work streaming doesn't have.

Extended cuts, acoustic versions, alternate-language mixes, demos, live takes — the work that doesn't fit on streaming's one-version-per-song catalogue.

Discovery

Real independent artists.

No major-label playlist gatekeeping. No engagement-optimised auto-recommendations. Browse artists who chose AudioMama because they wanted to be paid fairly for great work.

Fair pricing

You decide what to pay.

Pay-what-you-want pricing on every track. Pay the minimum, pay more, pay a lot more if the music moved you. The artist gets 90% of whatever you choose, regardless of amount.

approx. 850×
Per transaction

One $3 download on AudioMama earns the artist roughly what 850 Spotify streams would. At a $3 average, 371 supporters ≈ approximately 315,000 Spotify streams in artist earnings.

Math: $3 × 90% = $2.70 to the artist. Spotify pays rights holders ~$0.004 per stream; after label/distributor splits, the artist's share averages ~$0.0032. $2.70 ÷ $0.0032 ≈ 844 streams, rounded to ~850.
Sources: [1] [2]

The details

Artist revenue share

Streaming platforms pay rights holders — not artists directly. Spotify and Apple Music keep a percentage and the rest is split with labels, publishers, and distributors before anything reaches the musician. Bandcamp pioneered the direct 85/15 split. AudioMama goes further: 90% direct to the artist, paid immediately, with the remaining 10% funding the charity's mission.

Audio quality

Spotify still uses lossy 320 kbps Ogg Vorbis. Apple Music compresses to 256 kbps AAC by default but offers ALAC lossless. Tidal moved to FLAC HiRes (24-bit/192kHz) in July 2024 after dropping MQA. Bandcamp accepts FLAC and WAV. AudioMama treats 96kHz/32-bit studio masters as the baseline upload format, not a premium tier. No compression algorithms. No quality ceiling.

Fan ownership

Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal are streaming-only. The music disappears the moment a subscription lapses, the catalogue gets pulled, or the platform shuts down. Bandcamp and AudioMama deliver DRM-free files that fans own forever — play on any device, no expiry, no platform dependency.

Payout speed

Streaming services operate on 30 to 90 day payment cycles, with thresholds that can delay payouts further. AudioMama settles artist earnings immediately on transaction completion. No waiting. No accumulated balance to chase.

Charitable structure

Spotify, Apple, Tidal and Bandcamp (now Songtradr-owned) are for-profit companies with shareholder obligations. AudioMama is being established as a UK charity in formation — structurally aligned with artists rather than investors. The 10% the platform retains funds operations, music education, and artist development, not dividends.

Frequently asked

How is AudioMama different from Bandcamp?

AudioMama pays artists 90% (vs Bandcamp's 85%), is structured as a UK charity in formation rather than a for-profit company, and treats 96kHz/32-bit studio masters as the baseline upload format. The 10% AudioMama retains funds the charity mission, not shareholder returns.

Why pay-what-you-believe instead of fixed pricing?

Per-stream economics have detached the value of music from what fans pay for it. When listeners decide what a recording is worth (above the artist's minimum), the artist captures real value rather than a fraction of a cent. One $3 download earns the artist roughly what 850 Spotify streams would.

Do fans actually own the files they download?

Yes. Files are delivered DRM-free in lossless formats (WAV or FLAC). They play on any device, never expire, and don't disappear if you stop using AudioMama. Bandcamp pioneered this model; AudioMama applies it to studio-master quality audio.

How fast do artists actually get paid?

Immediately on transaction completion. Major streaming platforms operate on 30 to 90 day payment cycles. AudioMama settles artist earnings in real time.

Is AudioMama really a charity?

Yes. AudioMama is being established as a UK charity. The 10% the platform retains funds operational costs and the charity mission — fair pay, music education, and artist development. There are no shareholders, no investor returns.

What audio quality does AudioMama support?

96kHz/32-bit and higher in lossless formats (WAV, FLAC). No compression algorithm, no quality ceiling. Studio masters as baseline, not a premium tier.

Sources

  1. Royalty Exchange — How Music Streaming Platforms Calculate Payouts Per Stream, 2025. Spotify per-stream range; Tidal $0.01284 average. royaltyexchange.com
  2. Same source: Apple Music approximately 52% revenue share, approx. $0.01 per stream.
  3. Tidal Support — Audio Format Updates: MQA and 360 Reality Audio retired 24 July 2024; FLAC up to 24/192 is the new HiRes standard. Subscription unified at $10.99/mo. support.tidal.com
  4. Bandcamp Help: 15% platform fee on digital sales (85% to artist). get.bandcamp.help
  5. CNBC — Spotify's Daniel Ek leads $694 million investment in defense startup Helsing, 17 June 2025. Confirms Prima Materia (Ek's investment firm) led €600M Series D in Helsing AI defense company; Ek is chairman of Helsing's board. cnbc.com · Confirmed by Helsing's own press release: helsing.ai · Initial €100M 2021 investment confirmed by TechCrunch: techcrunch.com
  6. NPR — Spotify's Daniel Ek announces that he'll step aside as CEO, 30 September 2025. Documents the artist boycott (Massive Attack, Deerhoof, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Hotline TNT, Xiu Xiu) preceding Ek's CEO transition announcement. Massive Attack quote: "the hard-earned money of fans and the creative endeavours of musicians ultimately funds lethal, dystopian technology." npr.org
  7. US Department of Defense — Section 1260H List of Chinese Military Companies, updated 2 January 2025. Tencent Holdings designated under Section 1260H of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Coverage and analysis: CNN Business · Legal analysis: Crowell & Moring · Section 805 of FY2024 NDAA prohibits DoD from contracting with listed entities effective 30 June 2026.
  8. Apple Inc. institutional ownership — per SEC Form 13F filings, Q4 2025. Vanguard Group: ~9.57% (1.43 billion shares); BlackRock: ~7.68% (1.15 billion shares). Aggregated data: businessquant.com · Primary 13F filings at SEC EDGAR
  9. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese — "From economy of occupation to economy of genocide", A/HRC/59/23, published 30 June 2025. The report names 48 corporate actors, with BlackRock and Vanguard specifically identified as the largest institutional investors in implicated firms including Palantir, Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems. BlackRock holds $68M in Israeli bonds; Vanguard holds $546M (per report). Coverage citing primary source: Al Jazeera · Detailed corporate breakdown: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
  10. Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) institutional ownership — per SEC 13F/13G filings, mid-2025. Vanguard ~9% (54.58M Class A shares); BlackRock ~5%; T. Rowe Price ~7.7%. Aggregated data: fintel.io · Block 13G filing: SEC EDGAR
  11. Bandcamp ownership history — Bandcamp acquired by Epic Games March 2022, sold to Songtradr October 2023. Epic Games remains an investor in Songtradr per the sale terms; Epic is approximately 40% owned by Tencent Holdings (per a $330M investment from 2012). Reporting: Music Business Worldwide · Songtradr's official announcement: songtradr.com
  12. SoundCloud artist payout model — per-stream rates and revenue share information. SoundCloud transitioned to "fan-powered royalties" for Pro/Pro Unlimited artists; legacy pro-rata model paid lower rates. Per-stream rates approximately $0.003. Coverage: SoundCloud Blog
  13. SoundCloud ownership structure 2025-2026 — privately held German company (SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG). Co-controlling investors: The Raine Group (New York merchant bank, co-led the 2017 $169.5M rescue investment) and Temasek Holdings (Singapore's state sovereign wealth fund, ~US$521B portfolio as of May 2026). SiriusXM (NASDAQ: SIRI) invested $75M in 2020 for ~10-12% minority stake with a board seat. In early 2024, Raine Group and Temasek began interviewing investment banks about a ~$1 billion sale process; buyer unknown. Sources: Wikipedia (SoundCloud) · Music Business Research · Creative Industries News (January 2024 sale-process reporting).
  14. Temasek Holdings & ST Engineering — Temasek's own investor documentation identifies ST Engineering as a core Singapore-based portfolio company. Temasek's own published history describes ST Engineering as "originally a weapon manufacturer set up to supply the Singapore Armed Forces." ST Engineering is ranked among the top 100 global defence manufacturers by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). As of December 2024, all ST Engineering shareholdings previously held by Temasek subsidiaries were transferred directly to Temasek Holdings. In December 2024, ST Engineering signed a strategic agreement with Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering to set up in-country production of a new 8x8 armoured vehicle. Sources: Temasek Holdings (Wikipedia) · ST Engineering (Wikipedia) · SIPRI Arms Industry Database · Earlier reference to Temasek's STE holding in cluster-munitions financing research: BankTrack
  15. Temasek-BlackRock co-investment relationship — Temasek Holdings and BlackRock have co-invested together in at least 11 portfolio companies according to Tracxn investor-relationship data. BlackRock is named in the UN Special Rapporteur's June 2025 report on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories as a top shareholder in companies the report identifies as enabling the destruction of Gaza. Separately, Temasek CIO Rohit Sipahimalani publicly stated to CNBC on 9 July 2025 that the fund is actively looking at European defense investment opportunities: "Defense is clearly an area where there's going to be a lot of capital spent, and it's an area we are looking to see what opportunities there are." Sources: Tracxn (Temasek investor profile) · CNBC · UN Special Rapporteur report (see src-9).
  16. Bloomberg / Reuters — BlackRock's GIP, Temasek, ADNOC, and L'Imad Holding announced $30bn infrastructure investment fund targeting GCC and Central Asia, May 2026. Coverage: enterpriseam.com
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