Jay-Z is taking the fight to streaming giants Spotify by launching his own streaming music service called Tidal. The difference is that it is artist-owned. According to Business Insider, the service charges $20 each month for high definition audio streaming and artists will be compensated well for their music. For $10 a month, you can get the same music in standard definition.
The rapper announced his service in style at a press conference in New York City with fellow artists Usher, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Arcade Fire and Beyoncé among others who were in attendance and affirmed their support for Jay Z’s latest venture. All these icons from the past and present were there to stand with Jay-Z as he sets to “forever change the course of music history.”
The Telegraph quoted Alicia Keys at the press conference announcing Tidal, “So we come together before you on this day, March 30, 2015, with one voice in unity, in the hopes that today will be another one of those moments in time – a moment that will forever change the course of music history. For today we announce Tidal, the first ever artist-owned, global music and entertainment platform.”
Despite the support from mainstream artists, the service has landed criticism from others who are not crazy about Jay-Z’s initiative. The Daily Beast quoted Death Cab for Cutie vocalist Ben Gibbard saying, “I think they totally blew it by bringing out a bunch of millionaires and billionaires and propping them up onstage and then having them all complain about not being paid. That’s why this thing is going to fail miserably.”
Instead, Gibbard suggested an alternative approach to the launch, “If I had been Jay-Z, I would have brought out ten artists that were underground or independent and said, ‘These are the people who are struggling to make a living in today’s music industry. Whereas this competitor streaming site pays this person 15 cents for X amount of streams, that same amount of streams on my site, on Tidal, will pay that artist this much. There was a wonderful opportunity squandered to highlight what this service would mean for artists who are struggling and to make a plea to people’s hearts and pocketbooks to pay a little more for this service that was going to pay these artists a more reasonable streaming rate. And they didn’t do it.”
This sounds like a fair proposal, but Jay-Z seems okay with having backing from some of the biggest artists in the business as he sets out to conquer the streaming music space.