Lorde Backs New App That Puts Artists First

Pop star Lorde is backing a New Zealand startup that wants to rescue albums from the streaming era and put money back in artists' pockets.

Lume, a new music platform launching in June, lets fans buy and permanently own digital albums the way they once bought CDs. For around the same price as a physical CD, users get the full album plus exclusive bonus content like demos, live versions, behind-the-scenes videos, and expanded artwork.

The app represents a direct challenge to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, where artists earn fractions of a cent per play. Lume splits revenue 80:20, with artists and their partners keeping 80% of net revenue.

Singer-songwriter Lorde, whose real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor, joined a group of prominent investors including Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie and Letterboxd co-founder Karl von Randow. The backing signals growing frustration with how streaming has changed music consumption.

"Streaming services have been a great deal for consumers, but for many artists and serious music fans, they have distorted listening and made music into just another form of social content," said Duncan Greive, Lume co-founder and creator of The Spinoff. He launched the venture with Tim Harper, known for The Great New Zealand Songbook.

The platform launches first in New Zealand and Australia with a curated selection of albums from established acts like Tiki Taane and Shapeshifter, plus emerging artists like Geneva AM and Womb. Each Lume edition includes exclusive material that artists typically share on social media or leave unreleased.

Geneva AM, who won best independent debut at the Taite Music Prize, said the platform feels more intentional than social media. "Putting everything together into a very careful and well-considered package, for an intentional audience, is very appealing to me," she explained.

The app includes innovative features like nesting multiple versions of songs within an album and letting artists add tracks as an album cycle progresses. Purchases count toward the Official Aotearoa Music Charts with the same weight as physical vinyl or CD sales.

The Ripple Effect

Beyond helping individual artists earn more, Lume could shift how the entire industry values music. The platform has already partnered with independent labels Flying Nun and Lil Chief, and is in talks with labels and distributors in the US and UK for global expansion.

By treating albums as complete artistic statements rather than playlists of singles, Lume honors the creative vision artists pour into full-length releases. The model could inspire similar platforms worldwide, creating new revenue streams for musicians struggling under streaming's low-pay model.

Karl von Randow said it best: "Lume allows an album to be more than just a playlist, recapturing something we had lost in the online age."