A host of the biggest names in the music industry have joined forces to launch Tidal, a streaming service being billed as the first artist-owned platform for music and video.
Rihanna, Madonna, Beyonce, Usher, Daft Punk, Arcade Fire, Jack White and Kanye West joined a host of other stars as they were revealed as co-owners of the subscription service, which is the brainchild of Jay Z.
Unlike rivals Spotify, the service will not have a free tier – meaning the musicians stand to make more money from it.
Alicia Keys said the artists hope Tidal will ‘forever change the course of music history’ and ensure the viability of the industry at Monday’s launch event in New York City.
The celebrities – which also included Nicki Minaj, Jason Aldean, Usher, Arcade Fire and deadmau5 – stood in a line, and in solidarity by mostly wearing black onstage as Keys spoke to the audience at Skylight at Moynihan Station in Manhattan.
Keys called the event ‘a graduation.’
‘So we come together before you on this day, March 30th, 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 of Tidal, the first ever artist-owned, global music and entertainment platform,’ Keys said.
However, details about the streaming service were vague.
The membership-based service – similar to subscription service Spotify – will provide music and exclusive video content that users can stream on computers, tablets and smartphones or listen to offline.
Unlike Spotify there isn’t a free service.
It is being offered to U.S. users at two price points: about $9.95 for standard sound quality and $19.99 for ‘lossless high fidelity sound quality.’
In the United Kingdom the premium service will set users back £20.
Tidal streams at 1,411 kilobytes per second – well above the 320 for premium subscribers of Spotify, which offers lower levels for free users.
The launch came after a huge social media push, in which the stars devoted their Twitter and Facebook pages to promoting Tidal.
The mastermind behind the new system, Jay Z purchased Swedish tech company Aspiro for $56 million earlier this year to take control of Tidal.
Before the purchase in February he reportedly hosted a meeting of the music world’s biggest stars at which he lamented ‘crass commercialization’.
Daft Punk’s two members were key figures in deciding on a strategy during the meeting days before the Grammy Awards at The Fig House event space in a remote part of Pasadena, Los Angeles.
And it appears Jay Z’s business mind convinced them to open their pockets, and sign on as ‘co-owners’.
Source: Daily Mail
