Ok, first of all, what the FUCK is Tidal?
It seems like every other fuckin day we have some new music service that's just gonna change the fuckin game. Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Beats, fuuuuuckin, you name it. The latest? Tidal, "High Fidelity Music Streaming."
While it's still in its infancy, Jay Z explained that Tidal is not meant to compete with Spotify or any other streaming service but that the service is structured around paying artists more for their, well, art. Reasonable enough right? He hopes that it will encourage all other services to make a conscious effort at paying attention to the issue.
The owners, which include any and fucking everyone who's anyone from music
(Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Daft Punk, Jack White, Madonna, Arcade Fire, Alicia Keys, Usher, Chris Martin, Calvin Harris, deadmau5, Jason Aldeanand J. Cole) <--- Told you.
signed a declaration that stated,
“Just a declaration that we’re going to work really hard to improve what’s going on in the pay system as we know it. You guys may have seen some of the stats like, Aloe Blacc had a song that was streamed 168 million times and he got paid $4,000. For us, it’s not us standing here saying we’re poor musicians. If you provide a service, you should be compensated for it. And not just artists — just think about the writers and the producers.”
And if you don't like to read long ass lengthy quotes, IN A NUTSHELL: Artists made music streaming service, artists will get paid by music streaming service.
Ok, THAT, I'm all for. Give credit where credit is due. And that includes financial credit.
But apparently Tidal subscribers are having a hard time downloading Ye's latest album, "The Life of Pablo," though. And they're getting antsy. Antsy enough to where the album has had over HALF A MILLION illegal downloads. A number that not even Adele could touch. Especially with her, oh so questionable lyrics... Click here for more on that.
At the end of the day, remember: buying music from your favorite artists, SUPPORTS your favorite artists and Jay simply wanted to make that option available for all ya'll,
"You pay $9.99 for Spotify, so why not $9.99 for TIDAL. We’re not asking for anything else, we’re just saying that we’ll spread that money to artists more fairly.”
and later stated that,
“We believe that if you consume music for free, and that’s what you want to do, that’s your choice. There are good and bad parts of a democratic society — do what you like to do."
I'd say Tidal is worth a shot, eh?
What do you guys think? Have you downloaded it, used the service, did you experience any issues?
Click here to find out how much Kanye was offered for new album.
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I’m a Spotify user for over two years now, a premium subscriber for about a year and a half. I subscribed to Tidal also for a month, but in the end I decided to stick with Spotify, as I prefer its interface and catalog (and Tidal’s hifi plan costs the double of my Spotify plan, in Brazil). I’m on Tidal’s side when they talk about better redistribution of the money, but at least for me, their services are not as good as Spotify’s. About streaming services in general, I think they’re good for everyone, cause I don’t think people who bought music before them stopped buying it. I didn’t buy music before Spotify (probably cause I was still a teenager without a job at the time) and now at least I pay for a subscription and legally listen to music. The problem here is that exclusiveness starst to appear, Kanye’s album being the example of the moment, as only Tidal subscribers will be able to legally have it.
I think a study should be made to find out if artists are making more or less money now than before streaming services. I personally think that these services are also a very good way to hear new music, so that should be taken into consideration. I’m a regular listener of many artists that were presented to me through Spotify, small artists who would probably never come into my ears if not for it, so it sure works as a spreading mechanism.
To summarize, I’m all in for streaming services and I’d love if artists got paid the amount Tidal wants them to, but I don’t think they’ll become the biggest in the market while there are better/equal services with a vaster catalog and for a lower price.