Boygenius Members Launch Independent Distribution Platform for Artists

The three members of boygenius, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus, have announced their backing of a new independent music distribution platform designed to give artists significantly better financial terms and creative control than existing options. The platform, which launches later this year, promises to pay artists 90% of streaming revenue while providing tools for direct-to-fan sales, merchandise integration, and analytics.

The initiative addresses what the trio describes as the fundamental inequity of the current streaming economy, where the vast majority of revenue flows to labels, distributors, and platforms rather than to the artists creating the music. By building a platform that reduces the number of intermediaries between artists and audiences, they aim to create a more sustainable economic model for independent musicians.

The platform will also feature a mutual support fund, where a small percentage of revenue from the platform's highest-earning artists is redistributed to those who are just starting out. This cooperative approach reflects the values that have defined boygenius as a collective, a belief that artists thrive when they support each other rather than compete.

Early reaction from the independent music community has been enthusiastic. Several notable independent artists have committed to using the platform, and industry observers have praised the initiative for addressing systemic problems rather than simply optimizing within the existing system. Whether the platform can achieve the scale necessary to meaningfully challenge established distributors remains to be seen, but the ambition and the values behind it are difficult to argue with.