JAY Z recently purchased a controlling stake in the streaming service Tidal . . . and yesterday, he hosted a crazy event to announce its re-launch. Here are five highlights:
1. There were 15 MAJOR artists with him, who were announced as "co-owners." Not coincidentally, they included heavy hitters from many genres. Supposedly, they each got a 3% share, with Jay Z taking the rest.
They are: Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Daft Punk, Kanye West, Usher, Deadmau5, Madonna, Rihanna, Jason Aldean, Nicki Minaj, Arcade Fire, Chris Martin, J. Cole, Jack White, and DJ Calvin Harris.
2. They emphasized that this was the first "artist-owned" streaming platform, and made it clear they were going after Spotify.
Tidal's "thing" has always been that it has higher-resolution audio, better than Pandora and Spotify. It costs a little more . . . about $20 a month. But now, there's going to be a new $9.99 plan, which matches Spotify's premium level. But for that, you'll only get normal sound quality . . . and unlike Spotify, there still won't be a free-listening tier.
3. The perks on Tidal will include bonus content from artists, including early previews of music and video, and artist-created playlists. But at least for now, it doesn't sound like anyone is planning to make all their music exclusive to Tidal.
That's because Tidal only has about 550,000 subscribers, and Spotify has 15 MILLION . . . not to mention everyone who is streaming for free.
4. Madonna and Deadmau5 have fueded in the past . . . when Madonna was embracing the EDM / ecstasy scene . . . but they've buried the hatchet. They stood next to each other on the stage, and casually embraced.
But Deadmau5 did fake her out first, offering his hand and then pulling it away.
5. All the artists dramatically signed some sort of "declaration" during the event . . . and Madonna tried to steal some attention for herself by putting her leg up on the table as she signed it. (Here's a photo.)
(Here's an 18-minute video from the event. The "owners" are introduced at the 2:25 mark . . . alphabetically, like it was a school assembly or something. It's pretty wild to see this group on the same stage. They sign the declaration at the 9:50 mark. Madonna is at 11:50.)
