Jay-Z’s newly acquired (for a cool $56 million) music streaming service Tidal is beginning to gain steam- with a worldwide launch expected today. But what does it mean for the future of the music industry?
Tidal is offering consumers a better sound experience when listening to music. This “high fidelity” sound is supposedly a much better experience quality-wise then its direct competition Spotify. But the major drawback for most is the price. With better sound comes a lighter wallet- $20 a month to be exact. That’s a huge increase when compared to Spotify’s $10 a month ($5 for students). While there is a $10 option that emulates Spotify to a tee, it seem pointless to switch. Not to mention the added data usage that “hi-fi” sound will eat up.
So assuming you don’t really care for sound difference and are happy with Spotify, why bother considering a switch? The artists that could be available.
Jay-Z is just as good as a business man as he is a rapper (“I’m not business man I’m a business, man”) and he knows people may be reluctant to migrate. That’s why he’s assembled a star-studded array of artists to support the service including Beyonce, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj Jack White, Daft Punk and Madonna. You may be asking yourself what the big deal is, since those artists are already available on Spotify. The answer is you’re correct- for now.
Artists are currently upset over their pay when it comes to Spotify. They feel like they aren’t getting their fair share. Artists like Taylor Swift have long been against the service, even going as far as to take her entire catalog off of it. And that is exactly what many artists may do. If huge artists become exclusively available on Tidal, people may be more persuaded into making the switch. They may even go so far as to release new albums that can only be streamed on the service, which could be a major draw for fans of these artists.
Hov might be making these moves quickly, since Apple have reportedly been developing their own streaming service for years. Apple is widely regarded as the leader for music distribution (iTunes) and when their service drops, people will certainly take notice.
As of right now I think the better sound price-point is a bit ridiculous, and I’ve been a satisfied Spotify Premium costumer for a few years. Spotify made all my music readily available for a very reasonable price. But of course I knew it was too good to be true and wouldn’t last forever. Now I’m not too familiar with the contract situations of these artists regarding their record labels, but it seems like the power is in the artists’ hands at the moment. Whether this theory becomes a reality remains to be seen (since the service is just in its infancy) but if it does happen, the music industry will be forced to adjust.
nodicenyc 