As if Jay-Z didn’t have enough money and business ventures, now he can add Tidal to his portfolio. Tidal, in case you’re like me and had never heard of it before Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj released their video “I’m Feeling Myself,” is a music-streaming service like Pandora, but the first one owned by musicians. Jay spent a reported $56 million on Tidal, in return paying established artists for the use of their music.
Essentially, people are not responding well to being asked to pay upward of $9.99/month for the same thing they would receive elsewhere. In a recent interview with LA station REAL 92.3, 50 Cent asks the same question: “Why would you actually buy Tidal to get something that would be everywhere else?” As a subscriber you can receive exclusive videos and content such as a track Bee and Jay recorded for their anniversary.
Of course Jay-Z has a huge star-studded roster of celebrities who support him, including the wifey, who is rumored to be releasing a joint album with him, Rihanna, American Oxygen, and other A-list artists such as Usher, Kanye, and Madonna. Jay-Z also released his music video for Glory on Tidal.
To me, Tidal seems to be a great investment if you are interested in seeing these artists’ music videos. I still have not seen the full video for “I’m Feeling Myself” but then again I haven’t looked further than YouTube. But, if it hasn’t yet been linked on YouTube, it does speak merit to their copyright and infringement power, so maybe the $9.99 is worth it. In the end, I’m a huge Jay fan but I agree with singer Lily Allen who tweeted: “I love Jay Z so much, but Tidal is so expensive compared to other perfectly good streaming services. . . . He’s taken the biggest artists and made them exclusive to TIDAL (am I right in thinking this?), people are going to swarm back to pirate sites in droves sending traffic to torrent sites. Up and coming (not yet millionaires) artists are going to suffer as a result . . . My concern is that Tidal may set emerging artists back.”
What are your thoughts?