Streaming service
Tidal introduces direct compensation for musicians
Tidal was acquired by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s payment company Square in the spring. Photo: Michael Reynolds / Pool EPA / AP / dpa
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The amounts with which musicians are paid for streaming services are often small. Tidal is now introducing a new payment model.
In the future, the music streaming service Tidal will send part of the subscription payments from users directly to the musicians they listen to most.
It is up to ten percent of the price of the Hifi Plus tariff, which costs 19.99 euros a month in Germany, as Tidal announced on Wednesday. The idea is that the money should go to the artist whose music a Tidal customer has streamed most often in a month.
How much money musicians earn depends on the popularity of their music in streaming services. But often only small amounts are lost. The model of a direct share of a user’s subscription fee is a first in the industry.
At the same time, Tidal is initially trying to attract more users with a free version of the service for the first time in the USA. Market leader Spotify relied from the start on initially attracting subscription customers with a free offer that has limited functions and advertising. The number two Apple Music and so far also Tidal, however, are limited to a paid version.
Tidal was founded in 2015 by musicians around rap star Jay-Z, with the promise to give artists more participation in streaming income and to offer better sound quality. However, the service remained a niche service overshadowed by Spotify and Apple Music. In the spring, Tidal was taken over by the payment company Square of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey for around $ 300 million.