Jay Z gains support of big names for TIDAL launch

Jay Z will launch his new high-fidelity music streaming service on Monday.

TIDAL was acquired by Jay Z last month as part of a $56 million deal with Scandinavian media technology company Aspiro. The company’s shareholders blocked Jay Z’s initial advances before accepting a bid from the rapper at the beginning of this month.

Full details of the streaming service will be announced in a press conference on Monday at 5PM EST. According to TIDAL’s website, the platform is “the first music streaming service that combines the best high fidelity sound quality, high definition music videos and expertly curated editorial.”

According to TechCrunch, rumours have been circulating over the weekend that Tidal’s strategy will be to get Netflix-style exclusivity deals with big artists, to get access to their releases ahead of other digital streaming services. The exclusivity would only be for a limited period, with Spotify, Deezer and others would getting the tracks later.

Beyoncé, Kanye West, Jack White, Coldplay, Nicki Minaj and more have already pledged their support to the platform on Twitter, leading to speculation they may be among those signing exclusivity deals. The impressive display of support – which can be seen below – involved the hashtag #TIDALForAll, as well as the artists turning their avatars blue and urging others to do the same.

"The Tides They Are-A Changing" #TIDALforALL

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) March 30, 2015

NAVY, turn the tide…#MakeMusicHistory #TurnitBlue #TIDALforALL

— Rihanna (@rihanna) March 30, 2015

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/582391919218532352

Music makes the people come together. Join Madonna and turn your profile picture blue. Do it for the music. #TIDALforALL

— Madonna (@Madonna) March 30, 2015

Change your avi in support of what is fair, of what is the future. The tides have changed, Barbz.… https://t.co/UqGLHerO37

— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) March 30, 2015

If you want to join us in something exciting, please turn your profile blue #TIDALforALL PH pic.twitter.com/1IxBJnMTGH

— Coldplay (@coldplay) March 30, 2015

#TIDALforALL

— Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) March 30, 2015

Join Us. http://t.co/tFrrJRUFzb #TIDALforALL

— Third Man Records (@thirdmanrecords) March 30, 2015

TIDAL is currently offering two paid subscription options: $19.99 per month for high-fidelity audio and $9.99 for standard quality audio. Originally founded in Norway, TIDAL launched in the UK and US in October of last year offering playback at four times the bitrate of rival streaming service Spotify. [via CoS]

Update: The service has posted a star-studded preview video… that allegedly rips off Haxan Cloak. “Just to clarify, I’m not saying Tidal used my music; I’m saying they used an imitation of it,” tweets the producer. “This happens to artists way too often.” Not an auspicious start for a company that looks to protect artists in the streaming age.

https://twitter.com/haxan_cloak/status/582603542231388160

https://twitter.com/TriAngleRecords/status/582591324341309440