#124 - Goodbye Spotify? HIO CTO Tobi Akinwumi on 100 % Artist Payouts & the Web3 Music Revolution

About this episode

Tobi Akinwumi discusses the impact of Web3 on the music industry and how HIO Music ensures 100% artist payouts through innovative technology.

Web3 is coming for the music industry, and CTO Tobi Akinwumi is on the front line. In this candid sit-down with host Samir Azizi, the HIO Music CTO explains how his Solana-based streaming service routes 100 % of every subscription dollar straight to the artists you actually listen to, no middle-men and no hidden pools. Tobi breaks down the invisible-wallet tech that hides the crypto complexity from everyday users, the token-powered rewards that turn superfans into stakeholders, and why most musicians still care more about great UX than catchy Web3 buzzwords. Recorded live inside Toronto’s Solana “Startup Village,” the conversation also touches on: • The delicate dance of partnering with traditional distributors while disrupting their revenue model • Paying gas fees for the listener—why frictionless onboarding matters • Reconciling token price volatility with long-term product vision • Tobi’s return to indie-pop songwriting after a decade of pure coding • How Superteam Canada is cultivating the next wave of consumer-ready dApps Whether you’re an artist hunting for fairer payouts, a founder shipping consumer crypto products, or a music lover curious about NFTs you don’t have to…

People in this episode

Host: Samir Azizi

Guest: Tobi Akinwumi

Topics covered

• Web3
• music industry
• artist payouts
• streaming services
• crypto technology
• indie-pop songwriting
• consumer crypto products

Keywords

• Web3
• music streaming
• artist payouts
• crypto
• HIO Music
• Solana
• NFTs
• indie music
• consumer dApps

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HIO Music, Solana, Superteam Canada

Places: Toronto

More episodes of Azizi Podcast

• #131 - Can Crypto Trade the Untradable? Chao Chao Explains Paradise Markets · May 14, 2026 · 14 min
• #130 - Wilson Wu: How GeoCompanion Helps Brands Get Discovered in ChatGPT, Claude & Perplexity · May 14, 2026 · 17 min
• #129 - Matthew Puzhitsky on Comedy, AI, and the Rise of Canadian Pride · October 28, 2025 · 50 min
• #128 - From Stealth Startup to Toronto DAO | Husnain Interview · September 28, 2025 · 15 min
• #127 - From Montreal to Metaverse: Semo’s Vision for Solciety on Solana · September 28, 2025 · 10 min
• #126 - Ledger’s Nabu on Building Trust, NFTs, and the Future of Web3 in Canada · September 28, 2025 · 17 min