GM fellow Arweaver!
Arweave is well-known for securing code, text, and digital art, but the blockweave can store many forms of data. Audio is one of countless file types supported, making Arweave a great place for musicians, music lovers, audiophiles, and archivists.
Let's get into it.
Onchain audio 🔊
There are plenty of use cases for onchain audio, and the permaweb community has built some impressive applications. Here’s a quick look at some standout creations.
Archiving and access
Archiving audio is an excellent use case for permanent storage, and one that JonnieSparkles has experimented with on his ar://playdead site. The playdead archive is open to contributions, so check out the contribution guidelines for more details on how to get involved.
Playdead also happens to be one of multiple sources of audio on the HeyGoAudio platform. Its creator James describes the site as an accessibility tool that is growing into a more powerful tool for audio feeds, profiles, and publishing. HeyGoAudio is currently transitioning to the Wayfinder protocol, offering visitors a smooth listening experience no matter where they’re tuning in from.
Music platforms
One of the most advanced audio platforms on the blockweave is the Listen ecosystem built by Contract Wizard. This feature-rich music platform operates under the D.A.M.N. framework, short for Decentralized Autonomous Music Network. Listen offers several creator tools to help with file uploads, including an interface to manage metadata and an easy way to create a music collection. Clearly, a lot of work has gone into this site, as you can see in the Contract Wizard Gitbook.
More recently, El Tío has been devving away on StreamVault, a multi-chain music platform connecting Arweave with Audius. StreamVault is in an early conception stage, but is open to contributions from other community members. You can check out the latest alpha build here: stream-vault-three.vercel.app.
Another cross-chain music protocol worth checking out is Nina, which uses Solana and Arweave to store Actions (uploading a track, following an artist, or making a purchase). Nina’s team has deep roots in DIY and underground music scenes and built the platform to cater to independent artists. Both artists and labels receive 100% of their digital music sales revenue.
Explore onchain sounds
The great thing about Arweave is that its vast data lake is free to filter through and interpret in your own way. Outside of the many music-focused sites, there are several other ways to explore Arweave’s soundscape.
Roam offers a music filter option in its ‘Content Type’ menu in the user settings. Do be aware that Roam is a randomized explorer and can sometimes serve up quite unexpected results.
Wuzzy Search also offers a fast way to discover audio on the blockweave. The audio search filter offers a fine-tuned selection between MP3, WAV, OGG, and FLAC file types. The search results themselves offer plenty of metadata insights.
Make your voice heard
Arweave guarantees the right to listen; it’s one of the three guiding principles of the network. This applies to literally anyone, not just musicians or podcasters. Why not treat someone dear to you to a permanent sound bite? Maybe that’s a recording of your child’s first words, or a story you want to tell to your great-great-great-grandchildren.
ArDrive is a good place to start, with a simple upload interface and the option to encrypt your files. Check their pricing calculator to see what fits your budget. For just $5, you can upload around 500 MB, which offers plenty of space to save voice memos, interviews, short stories, or music files.
Arweave is the place to keep your voice alive.
ICYMI 👀
Here’s a quick snapshot of what’s been unfolding across Arweave and AO.
This week's community feature 🧑💻
Still tracking your app data through third-party tools? Jonny Ringo’s guide shows how analytics can live entirely on Arweave with zero infra cost.
Arweave-powered app analytics flips the model from renting dashboards to owning permanent, queryable data, and might change how you think about tracking user behavior entirely.
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The Longview Team
This is not investment advice. No profit guarantees. If in the U.S., ensure compliance with U.S. laws and seek professional advice.