TIDAL, less than a month after relaunching under the direction of rapper Jay Z, has been deemed a flop after the app’s downloads dropped significantly after the first two weeks.
Typically known for holding his peace Jay Z surprisingly took to his twitter account to clear the air on things being said about the streaming service.
Stream of consciousness coming in 5, 4, 3, 2… #TidalFacts
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
Tidal is doing just fine. We have over 770,000 subs. We have been in business less than one month. #TidalFacts — Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
The iTunes Store wasn’t built in a day. It took Spotify 9 years to be successful…
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow & get better. #TidalFacts — Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
There are many big companies that are spending millions on a smear campaign. We are not anti-anyone, we are pro-artist & fan. #TidalFacts
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
We made Tidal for fans. We have more than just music. We have video, exclusive concerts, tickets for events early, live sports!… — Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
….Tidal is where artists can give their fans more without the middlemen. #TidalFacts
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
Indie artists who want to work directly w/ us keep 100% of their music. “If you don’t want the CEOs all in the videos” haa #tidalfacts — Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
Tidal pays 75% royalty rate to ALL artists, writers and producers – not just the founding members on stage.
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
Rich getting richer? Equity values… YouTube $390 billion. Apple $760 billion. Spotify $8 billion. Tidal $60 million. #TidalFacts — Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
My cousin just moved to Nigeria to discover new talent. Tidal is a global company.
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
We have Tidal X – it supports artists by giving them a platform to connect with their most loyal fans. Tidal is for all. #Tidalfacts — Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
Our actions will speak louder than words. We made Tidal to bring people the best experiences…
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
and to help artists give that to their fans over and over again… — Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
We are human (even Daft Punk ha). We aren’t perfect – but we are determined. #TidalFacts
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015
Jay Z’s long winded (or long-tweeted) response is of no surprise as artists like Lily Allen, Mumford & Sons, and others have spoken out about how Tidal seems to be a great idea but missed it’s own point.
Death Cab for Cutie front man, Ben Gibbard, said “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. That’s why this thing is going to fail miserably.”
Weather TIDAL will be a failure or a success is a story that will be told in due time. It is in fact quite early to tell if this is something that will last and actually compete with the likes of Spotify. One thing is for certain: new users or not, TIDAL is benefiting from a great amount of coverage in the media. Like they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
