ChangeTip Allows Fans To Tip Their Favorite Musicians In Bitcoin

ChangeTip has marketed itself as a "money layer for social media"; meaning that the company allows users to send each other virtual tips for things like enjoyable YouTube vidoes, insightful reddit comments and now— great songs. On Wednesday, the company

that it would use SoundCloud's open API to allow fans to tip their favorite musicians.

The addition of ChangeTip to SoundCloud is expected to enhance users' interaction with artists as it makes the experience more personal. Fans can show their appreciation by commenting on an artist's song using @ChangeTip followed by their desired amount. The ability to put money in the hands of musicians is also a step forward for online streaming services, which have been widely criticized for devaluing the quality of albums by making them available for free.

ChangeTip is now able to function with 12 sites including SoundCloud, something bitcoin enthusiasts say is a big step forward for the cryptocurrency space. ChangeTip transactions are denominated in bitcoin, so the more the service is used, the more comfortable the public will be with sending and receiving bitcoin.

Currently, ChangeTip is most widely used by the digital currency community to send financial stamps of approval to each other. Bloggers, journalists and other content creators can embed a ChangeTip button on their website which allows users to send them a virtual tip denominated in bitcoin. However, with virtual tips expanding to new arenas like SoundCloud, ChangeTip is hoping the practice of rewarding content creators with bitcoin will catch mainstream attention.