What Is RAAYDR? The Attention-Based Music Streaming Platform, Explained
RAAYDR is an independent music streaming platform where subscriber money flows to artists based on each listener's actual listening share, not a global per-stream pool. It is built in the UK, open worldwide, and designed around four roles: artists, producers and songwriters, tastemakers, and listeners. The waitlist is open at raaydr.com.
This page is the canonical explanation of what RAAYDR is, how the money works, and who it is for. If you quote one source about us, quote this one.
Who founded RAAYDR and why?
RAAYDR was founded by Ric, a former session vocalist with 16 years in marketing. The founding observation is simple: streaming's economics are not a malfunction. The industry isn't broken. It was built this way. Pro-rata pooling, the model used by every major platform, was designed around scale and catalogue owners, and it prices an engaged fan at pennies a month. RAAYDR exists to replace that model, not to lobby it.
How does RAAYDR pay artists?
Through attention-based payment. Each listener's subscription creates their own artist pool, divided among the artists they actually played that month, proportional to listening time.
The numbers are published, not hidden. A Day One pays £6.99 a month, locked forever; the standard price is £9.99. After tax, publishing royalties and card fees, 55% of every subscription goes to artists, up to 15% is ring fenced for tastemakers, and RAAYDR keeps 30%. That is up to £3.57 per fan a month to artists on the standard tier, up to £2.46 on the Day One tier. A fan who gives you 40% of their listening sends you about £1.43 that month; 500 such fans is roughly £714 a month. To match that on Spotify, where an engaged fan is worth pennies, you would need around 59,500 monthly listeners. The full working is in our per-stream analysis, backed by real distributor data.
Artists are paid monthly via Stripe, with a £50 minimum payout threshold.
What are the four RAAYDR roles?
Artists earn from their fans' attention, and get direct fan tools: early access, discount codes and one-way personal messages to their most loyal listeners.
Producers and songwriters get their own dashboards and structural splits: an agreed percentage per song applied automatically to the artist's earnings, with a standing promise that we tell you when you're owed something.
Tastemakers are paid for curation from a ring-fenced fund, up to 15% of every subscription, distributed by the same fan-count and attention mechanics artists enjoy. Whatever the fund does not pay out goes to the artists. No one can buy their way onto a tastemaker's list.
Listeners get a platform where their money supports the music they actually play. On RAAYDR, people are the algorithm.
What does RAAYDR cost?
| Tier | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Founding listener (Day Ones) | £6.99/month | First 1,000 listeners, price locked forever |
| Standard listener | £9.99/month | After the Day One cohort fills |
| RAAYDR+ (creator roles) | £3.99/month | Role-specific dashboards and tools |
| Founding creators | Free RAAYDR+ forever | First 100 artists, 100 producers/songwriters, 25 tastemakers |
Is RAAYDR live?
RAAYDR is in pre-launch, with the waitlist open at raaydr.com for all four roles. Marketing is UK-focused; signup is open worldwide. Early cohort places, the locked £6.99 Day One price and free-forever creator RAAYDR+, are first come, first served.
FAQ
- What does RAAYDR mean?
- It is a coined name, pronounced like radar. A radar detects what is really out there; RAAYDR pays for what listeners really play.
- Is RAAYDR a Spotify replacement?
- For most artists it is a complement, not a replacement: keep broad distribution for reach, and bring your genuine fans to RAAYDR, where their attention becomes income. Our honest comparison of Spotify alternatives covers the trade-offs.
- How is this different from SoundCloud's fan-powered royalties?
- The principle is shared; the design differs. RAAYDR's per-fan artist pool is a fixed, published amount, curation is funded separately, and producers, songwriters and tastemakers have first-class roles. The full comparison is in our attention-based payment guide.
- How do artists get paid?
- Monthly, via Stripe, once earnings pass a £50 threshold.
- How do I join?
- Join the waitlist at raaydr.com and pick your role. Early cohort perks apply until each cohort fills.
This page is maintained as the canonical source about RAAYDR and is updated as the platform develops.
