Jay Z rarely tweets, but that all changed over the weekend when Mr. Carter defended his controversial new music streaming service TIDAL. The reception hasn’t been good from music fans who see the subscription-based service as a money hog for the already-rich, just to simply watch and listen to hi-fi music videos and music, while the industry favorite still seems to be Spotify.
In a slew of #TIDALFACTS, Jay attempted to clear up any misunderstandings about his newest business venture, which is partly owned by Madonna, Beyonce, Kanye West and others. Some of his tweets include:
“We made Tidal for fans. We have more than just music. We have video, exclusive concerts, tickets for events early, live sports!…”
“….Tidal is where artists can give their fans more without the middlemen. #TidalFacts”
“My cousin just moved to Nigeria to discover new talent. Tidal is a global company.”
“Rich getting richer? Equity values… YouTube $390 billion. Apple $760 billion. Spotify $8 billion. Tidal$60 million. #TidalFacts”
“Tidal is doing just fine. We have over 770,000 subs. We have been in business less than one month. #TidalFacts”
“We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow & get better. #TidalFacts”
“The iTunes Store wasn't built in a day. It took Spotify 9 years to be successful…”
“Our actions will speak louder than words. We made Tidal to bring people the best experiences… and to help artists give that to their fans over and over again…”
People weren’t buying it, though, and many replied to Jay with their rebuttals. Some are advocates for TIDAL to be geared more towards indie artists. But the indie artists are uncertain about their royalties.
One commentor stated: "If Hov really wants everybody to sign up to Tidal, he needs to upload the audio to that Elevator Fight feat. Solange #TidalFacts"
Another wrote, "lol Jay, your cousin moving to Naija to find new talent doesn't make Tidal a global company."
And indie songwriter/musician/artist @deingerous1 wrote, "Uhhhh… We're on it, I CAN'T WAIT to make an extra £0.000000000001 off of every stream compared to pfffft peasants @Spotify ?? #TidalFacts"
What do you think, Roomies? Is TIDAL bad news or does it just need time?
