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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.'
Wow, this is convenient - all the crappy music I wouldn't buy in one place.
You win the Internet today!
Seriously. I wouldn't knowingly buy something associated with Kanye West, or most of those acts. I'm all for artist-owned publishing, promotion, and distribution, especially because I do think artists of all kinds should have some kind of control over the fate of their products if they wish to, instead of being at the mercy of exploitative contracts.
But I don't find those artists particularly appealing, and I think Kanye West is a narcissistic idiot in the truest sense of the words. Plus, I find it hilarious that it's the bazillionaires doing this. If it were independent artists forming some kind of union or collective, that would be one thing. But I smell a money grab here. I would like to see what they offer lesser known artists who might be interested in signing up. I wonder how much of a percentage they would take.
Does Tidal's catalog approach the size of Spotify's? If the overwhelming emphasis is on contemporary, commercially successful acts, I don't think I'd find it all that useful.
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