Tidal is the first music streaming service to accept Venmo
New and existing users can pay their monthly fee using their digital balance.
High-fidelity music streaming service Tidal now lets subscribers pay using their Venmo balance. It's the latest in a slew of partnerships for the PayPal-owned payments app, following support for Uber, Shopify and Hulu, as it looks to monetize transactions. New Tidal users will be able to select Venmo as a payment option at sign-up on the app, while existing users can make the switch by visiting the My.TIDAL.com mobile website. Once you choose Venmo as your payment option, Tidal will grab your monthly subscription cost from your account or linked payment method.
Though not an exclusive, the move will help set the Jay-Z-owned music platform apart from its bigger rivals Spotify and Apple Music (which currently only accept credit or debit card and PayPal). Tidal has also been pushing out new features of late including master-quality audio on Android (with iOS support in the pipeline), Spotify-like personalized 'My Mix' playlists, and integration with Plex. But its lingering controversies -- including the opening of criminal investigations in Norway over its alleged inflation of streaming numbers -- risk overshadowing its updates.
