The GroundWave Manifesto

Legacy DSPs utilize "pro-rata" payout pools that funnel subscription money away from the local, independent artists you actually listen to, and directly into the pockets of the world's biggest pop stars.

GroundWave operates on a User-Centric Distribution Model. This means your subscription fee goes exactly to the artists you stream. If you pay a monthly subscription and you only listen to three local bands in your city, 100% of the creator pool from your subscription goes to those three bands.

Legacy platforms use black-box algorithms designed to homogenize music, pushing everyone toward the same viral global hits. We take the exact opposite approach.

We utilize the H3 Hexagonal Mapping System to divide the globe into distinct, neighborhood-sized "Scenes." Listeners lock into their local Scene to engage with a multi-layered local ecosystem:

We aren't just changing how the money is distributed; we are changing how much of it goes to the creators. We operate a lean infrastructure so we can pass the lion's share of the revenue back to the artists.

Streaming is only one piece of the puzzle. To truly empower artists, we give them the tools to run their entire business directly on the platform.

Community management is another core pillar of GroundWave. We enable artists to turn casual listeners into rabid fans who are incentivized to participate directly in their local community.

Through dedicated Artist Sanctums, creators can cultivate an intimate, hyper-engaged following. But community building must be safe—so we provide artists with powerful moderation controls to preserve their brand identity, filter toxicity, and maintain the exact culture they want their community to reflect.