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Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Tidal exclusive lasted less than two days
Beyoncé did a Beyoncé thing (along with her husband Jay-Z) over the weekend and released her (their) new album on Tidal with no prior warning. The pair are part-owners of Tidal, which was also the exclusive home of her previous album, Lemonade. But Tidal's sole dominion over the Carters' Everything Is Love didn't last long; it's already available to stream on Spotify Premium, Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited. The album will hit Spotify's free tier in two weeks.
Tidal reportedly inflated streaming stats for Beyoncé and Kanye West
Tidal is under fire once again for allegedly inflating its streaming numbers. This time, it's for misreporting the amount of plays Beyoncé's Lemonade and Kanye West's The Life of Pablo had by "several hundred million" false plays. According to a report (translated) from Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN), there's no way that the streaming numbers could've been that high without Tidal manipulating its data. More plays meant that the two artists garnered higher royalty payments. The publication received a hard drive brimming with Tidal play data including play times, song titles, user IDs and country codes.
Kanye West may be working on a streaming service called 'Yeezy Sound'
Yeezy and Jay Z haven't had the most comfortable of relationships lately. Kanye West terminated his exclusivity deal with Tidal a few months back, apparently because of the $3 million bucks West says the streaming service owes him for bringing in 1.5 million new subscribers for The Life of Pablo. Of course, it's probably more about ego than cash. Either way, the plot thickens today as The Blast reports a new trademark request on behalf of West for a streaming service that may be named, we kid you not, Yeezy Sound.
Kanye's Tidal breakup is about ego, not money
The relationship between Tidal and Kanye West, one of the streaming service's original artist-owners, is seemingly coming to an end. According to various reports, which Engadget confirmed independently, 'Ye has decided to terminate his exclusive streaming deal with the company, claiming it owes him more than $3 million dollars. Most of that sum was allegedly supposed to be a bonus for him bringing in 1.5 million new subscribers with the release of his last album, The Life of Pablo, in 2016. Tidal is shutting down Kanye's claims and, per TMZ, doesn't seem to be too concerned with his threat to quit since he's still under contract. It's also been reported that, if he were to jump ship and join another streaming service, Tidal's prepared to take legal action.
Jay-Z’s Tidal-exclusive ‘4:44’ went platinum in less than a week
Jay-Z's latest album 4:44 had a very exclusive release. It was available only on Tidal and new customers signing up to the streaming service days before the album dropped were also required to be Sprint customers in order to get access to 4:44. But despite those limitations, the album is the latest streaming-only release to go platinum. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) tweeted the news today, meaning 4:44 hit the milestone in less than a week.
Kanye West reportedly quits Tidal over money dispute
Kanye West has been one of Tidal's biggest champions: he joined the company the moment Jay-Z relaunched its service, and The Life of Pablo was one of the streaming music service's largest (if temporary) exclusives. However, it appears that the relationship has... soured. TMZ sources claim that Kanye has left the company over a payment squabble involving both Life of Pablo and music videos. It's reportedly a messy dispute, and certainly not what Tidal wanted in an already tumultuous period for the business.
Tidal’s ‘On Air’ podcast network features five exclusive shows
Jay Z's forthcoming album isn't the only new content coming to Tidal this month. The streaming music site announced Tuesday that it is following the lead of Google Play, Deezer, and Spotify and now offering podcasts to its subscribers.
Jay Z’s ‘4:44’ album will be another Tidal exclusive
As you'd expect from the guy that owns Tidal, Jay Z is releasing a new album called 4:44 on June 30th, exclusively on ... Tidal. Also getting in on the action is Sprint, the US carrier that acquired a 33 percent chunk of Tidal earlier this year for $200 million. It will offer customers a six month Tidal HiFi trial and free access to the album, the first in a series of exclusives. "Jay Z is a global icon and we're giving customers and incredible opportunity to be among the first to experience his new album 4:44," said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure in a statement.
Tidal burns through its third CEO in two years
Yet another Tidal CEO is out. Jeff Toig, who took over the position from interim CEO Peter Tonstad in 2016, has reportedly left the company. Which means Tidal is now looking for its fourth chief executive in two years.
Most of Jay Z's albums are already back on Apple Music
Hip hop legend Jay Z pulled most of his music off of Spotify and Apple Music last Friday. It wasn't a huge surprise given Jay Z's involvement and stake in competitor Tidal, but it looks like things aren't quite so cut and dry here. After confirming that the majority of his discography was indeed gone from Apple Music in the US and UK last Friday, we're now seeing that the majority of his albums have already returned to Apple's streaming service.
Jay Z's albums are disappearing from Apple Music and Spotify
If you were hoping to make Jay Z's "Lucifer" part of your "getting ready to go out" playlist tonight that could be tricky depending on the streaming service you use. That's because as MacRumors and 9to5Mac noticed, Beyoncé's husband has started pulling his solo catalog from the likes of Apple Music and Spotify in favor of his Tidal service. As of press time, Spotify still had singles and his collaboration with R. Kelly Unfinished Business on offer, but a bulk of Shawn Carter's albums are missing. A Spotify spokesperson confirmed the move, saying that "some of his catalog has been removed at the request of the artist."
Jay Z launches a venture capital firm to back startups
Jay Z was rumored to be launching a venture capital firm, and it looks like the scuttlebutt was true. His company Roc Nation has formed Arrive, a VC "platform" that will help younger startups build their brands and businesses. Roc is betting that its experience in fostering artists and athletes will translate to the corporate world. Arrive doesn't have a fund of its own just yet, but one is in the works.
Prince estate sues Roc Nation over Tidal streaming rights
Jay Z debuted his version of Tidal after buying the streaming service for $56 million last year. In the months since he took over, the company has struggled to compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music despite a list of high-profile exclusive releases. Now Tidal is locked in a legal battle with Prince's estate. The late artist's label and publishing businesses are suing Jay Z's Roc Nation over the music subscription service's streaming of Prince's entire catalog.
WSJ: Apple in talks to buy Tidal
Jay Z could be the next rapper making a big sale to Tim Cook, as the Wall Street Journal cites anonymous sources saying Apple is in "exploratory" talks to buy Tidal, although a spokesperson for the music service said there had not been any talks. As to why Apple would buy, the answer could be Tidal's direct relationship with artists, something that could bolsters Apple Music's offerings. Exclusivity of high-profile album and mixtape releases has been a recurring theme lately, and buying out the service could arm Apple with more content that competitors like Spotify (which has its own issues with Apple) and Google Play can't offer.
Jay-Z pulls another album from streaming services he doesn't own
While Jay Z took his album Reasonable Doubt off Spotify just before he launched his own music service , the artist has recently pulled his Blueprint albums. Pitchfork noticed the disappearance of the 2001 album from iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Music. You can still listen to the majority of Mr. Carter's back-catalogue on music services besides the one he owns -- although he won't make as much money from it.
Jay-Z's Tidal music service to offer original TV shows
Under the management of Jay Z, music streaming service Tidal has slowly grown to more than one million subscribers. The company has sought to differentiate itself from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music with a mixture of high-fidelity tracks and exclusive video content, but it now believes that original programming could give it an extra edge over its rivals. Variety reports that Tidal has ordered two new series: Season 2 of New York street drama Money & Violence, which will debut in January, and No Small Talk, a series profiling rising comedians, which hits the streaming service today.
Tidal's music-streaming service reaches 1 million subscribers
Remember when Jay Z said Tidal, the streaming music service he acquired earlier this year, was doing just fine? Well, as it turns out, things are still on a respectable course. The musician/entrepreneur took to Twitter to reveal a significant milestone for Tidal: 1 million subscribers. "'Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists,'" Jay Z tweeted. "Tidal is platinum." To celebrate, Tidal announced it will be hosting a charity concert in Brooklyn's Barclays Center on October 20th, featuring high-caliber artists such as Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Prince and, of course, Jay Z himself. And don't worry if you can't attend, the service says it plans to stream it to everyone (including non-subscribers) on its website.
Tidal delivers desktop app, refreshed UI and student pricing
Jay Z's music-streaming service, Tidal, relies heavily on bringing exclusive content to subscribers. But it knows more features are needed to complement that. Today, in an effort to make the overall experience better for its users, Tidal is launching desktop apps for both Mac and Windows -- albeit in beta form. There's also an updated user interface on mobile and the web, along with the new applications, which comes with extra personalization options, a simplified menu and improved search results. Ticketmaster support has been added too, letting people view artists' tour dates and purchase concert tickets directly from the music service's website or apps; Spotify does something similar through Songkick.
Recommended Reading: Wearing Google Glass every day for two years
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Two Years Through the Looking Glass by Allen Firstenberg I'm pretty sure there's nothing I've done every day for the last two years. Maybe I've taken a vitamin, but I'm sure I missed a day here or there. Allen Firstenberg is way more dedicated to habit than I am, though. He's been wearing Google Glass since he received the headset two years ago and has a load of observations about the past, present and future of the tech.
Tidal will stream Prince's 'Rally 4 Peace' concert for free
You won't need a ticket to Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore to see Prince perform this Sunday. Heck, you won't even need to be on the Eastern seaboard. Tidal, Jay Z's much maligned streaming music service, announced today that it will broadcast the artist's full 60-minute Rally 4 Peace set completely free of charge. What's more the show will be "pre-paywall," meaning that users won't need a Tidal subscription to access it. Additionally, the streaming service will "match funds" of any donation made through its official website with proceeds going to local youth charities and the Baltimore Justice Fund. Prince is reportedly planning this impromptu concert to bring Baltimore communities together after the death of Freddie Grey in police custody. [Image Credit: Getty]
