Taylor Swift Put Her Catalog on Jay-Z’s Tidal Streaming Service
Back in November, pop superstar Taylor Swift caused quite the stir among music industry professionals and lovers of free music when she pulled her entire catalog from the biggest streaming service of ‘em all, Spotify. When she did, Swift announced that she didn’t want to perpetuate the idea that music should be free, telling Time, “I think that people should feel that there is a value to what musicians have created, and that’s that.”
It appears that Swift has now found a kindred streaming service that shares those values in Tidal, a platform owned by none other than rapper Jay-Z. Swift's entire catalog -- a hot commodity among streaming services ever since it was taken off Spotify -- has appeared in its entirety on Jay-Z's newly acquired platform, including the singer-songwriter's latest effort, last year's Platinum-selling 1989.
Jay-Z's company, Project Panther, bought Tidal’s parent company, the Sweden-based Aspiro, earlier this month for $56 million after seeking the advice and opinions of fellow musicians, music execs, lawyers and more.
Tidal hosts 25 million tracks in comparison to Spotify’s 30 million, however, its membership goes for $19.99 per month, whereas Spotify’s stands at $9.99. So how does Jay-Z expect that value to compete in the current market? He’s marketing his platform toward audiophiles.
Tidal’s library boasts lossless, 1,411 KBPS, 44.1kHz/16-bit sound to appeal to the sensibilities of music fans who care about the quality of sound coming through their speakers and are willing to invest accordingly. In addition, Tidal offers 75,000 music videos, editorial features and interviews -- certainly not the streaming service for passively listening while at work.
The platform’s leadership has no qualms about finding its niche demographic -- that’s what they want.
“This service is not for everybody. Spotify is for everybody,” CEO Andy Chen told Verge. “You don’t even need to pay [for Spotify]! But for quality, you have to pay.”
However, you can currently give Tidal a try for free; the service is offering free seven-day trials here.