Zedge Launches Tapedeck: A Bold New Platform Putting the Power - and the Payout - Back in Artists' Hands
Rhea-AI Summary
Zedge (NYSE AMERICAN:ZDGE) announced Tapedeck on October 6, 2025 — a new music app and service designed to give artists pricing control and larger payouts. According to the PR, Tapedeck lets licensors set streaming and download prices (a penny per play minimum), pays licensors 80% of revenue for each download and stream, and offers optional fan contributions with no subscription fees for artists. The company says Tapedeck will begin a three‑month pilot in the United States with distribution partner Symphonic on iOS, with Android, web, and international expansion expected in 2026.
Positive
- 80% revenue share to licensors on streams and downloads
- Artist-driven pricing with a $0.01 per play minimum
- No subscription fees for artists to participate
- Three-month U.S. pilot with Symphonic on iOS
Negative
- Initial availability limited to an iOS U.S. pilot
- Broader platform and international expansion delayed to 2026
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, ZDGE gained 6.29%, reflecting a notable positive market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +6.2% during that session. Our momentum scanner triggered 8 alerts that day, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility. This price movement added approximately $3M to the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $47M at that time. Trading volume was elevated at 2.1x the daily average, suggesting notable buying interest.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
NEW YORK, NY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / October 6, 2025 / Zedge, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN:ZDGE), $ZDGE, a leader in digital marketplaces and interactive games that provide content, enable creativity, empower self-expression and facilitate community, announces the launch of Tapedeck, a groundbreaking new music app and service designed to give musicians more control and fairer compensation for their work.
Since 2017, Zedge has made it easier for creators across the globe to make a living making art through its thriving Zedge Premium marketplace, paying out millions of dollars each year. With Tapedeck, Zedge is bringing that same creator-first model to music.
The service is the brainchild of Zedge's SVP of Product and music industry veteran Tim Quirk, the lead singer of Too Much Joy and key figure in shaping the digital music landscape. Quirk was part of the team that launched Rhapsody in 2001, helped build Google Play in 2011, and later went on to found Freeform Development, a start-up Zedge acquired with the goal of enabling their global network of creators to better monetize their art.
Reflecting on the early days of streaming, Quirk emphasizes that fair artist compensation was once achievable:
"When Rhapsody launched it set the standard at a penny per play, while, at FreeForm we knew there had to be more and we proved that superfans showed they'll pay extra to support the artists they care about most. Zedge Premium furthered this by enabling a self-serve platform that put the artist in charge. TapeDeck's goal is to prioritize fan passion over mass numbers of casual users ensuring that control over destiny stays exactly where it belongs - with the artist," he says. Today, he remains acutely aware of the stark contrast, as modern royalty systems often leave artists earning mere fractions of a cent per stream from their labels."
How Tapedeck changes the game:
Artist-driven pricing: Licensors, whether individual artists, labels, or distributors, set their own prices for streaming, track downloads, and album purchases based on knowing their audience best. A penny per play is the minimum.
Revenue share: Tapedeck pays licensors
80% of revenue for each download and stream.Optional fan contributions: Fanscan also pay more than the listed price, creating an incremental revenue opportunity for the artists they love.
No subscription fees: Artists can participate without upfront costs, ensuring accessibility and scalability.
"We're not aiming to compete with Spotify on day one," Quirk adds. "We're here to prove eager fans can support the artists they love in ways that aren't available today."
Tapedeck has partnered with Symphonic to launch a three-month pilot program in the United States, initially available on iOS. More licensors will be added continuously, and expansion to Android, web, and international markets is expected in 2026.
With Tapedeck, every play and purchase gives more support to the artists who create the music you love.
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About Tapedeck
Tapedeck is a new digital music service from Zedge with a mission to make it easier for musicians to make a living making music. Its transparent, artist-first model allows licensors to set their own prices and ensures a penny-per-play minimum for streaming royalties, while giving fans the ability to directly support the artists they admire.
About Zedge
Zedge empowers tens of millions of consumers and creators each month with its suite of interconnected platforms that enable creativity, self-expression and e-commerce and foster community through fun competitions. Zedge's ecosystem of product offerings includes the Zedge Marketplace, a freemium marketplace offering mobile phone wallpapers, video wallpapers, ringtones, notification sounds, and pAInt, a generative AI image maker; GuruShots, "The World's Greatest Photography Game," a skill-based photo challenge game; and Emojipedia, the #1 trusted source for 'all things emoji.'
For more information, visit: investor.zedge.net
Contact:
Brian Siegel, IRC, MBA
Senior Managing Director
Hayden IR
(346) 396-8696
ir@zedge.net
SOURCE: Zedge, Inc.
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
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