Tidal launches free streaming and splits HiFi into two plans

guest · Nov 17, 2021

Tidal launches free streaming and splits HiFi into two plans
Plus the company is taking new steps to get more money to artists
November 17, 2021
https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/17/22787051/tidal-free-hifi-plus-announced-features-artist-payments

Tidal is making some significant changes to its subscription plans and introducing a free, ad-sponsored tier for the first time. The new Tidal Free plan launches today, is exclusive to the US, and the company says it offers “access to our entire music catalog and playlists, with limited interruptions.” Streaming quality tops out at 160kbps, however, so it’s not much for Tidal’s paid options on that front.

As for those paid subscriptions, Tidal is upgrading its standard paid plan to include lossless and high-resolution audio. Now known as Tidal HiFi, the $9.99-per-month tier offers the improved music quality (up to 1411kbps) and also adds “offline capabilities, access to features like Tidal Connect and My Activity, which provides individualized daily listening insights.” With Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited now offering lossless at no extra cost, Tidal had little choice here but to match those services. The service, now owned by Square, was among the first to make a big lossless push.
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But the company is also adding a new, third plan called Tidal HiFi Plus. It costs $19.99 monthly and will be home to Tidal’s most premium audio content. You’ll need HiFi Plus for “best-in-class immersive sound formats” including Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Audio tracks. Tidal’s Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) recordings are also reserved exclusively for the higher HiFi tier.
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Separate from its consumer-facing news, Tidal is announcing some new initiatives it hopes could provide artists with some additional revenue from the fractions of scraps they normally receive from music streaming services.

Direct-to-artist payments: Beginning today, TIDAL will launch monthly direct-to-artist payments.
Fan-centered royalties: [...] Rather, royalties will be paid based on the actual streaming activity of individual HiFi Plus subscribers as opposed to the industry accepted method of aggregating streams, empowering fans to play a larger role in the success of their favorite artists.
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TIDAL Launches Their First-Ever Free Music Tier, Two Enhanced HiFi Tiers, And New Ways To Get Artists Paid

Innovative new products and features, including direct-to-artist payments, fan-centered royalties, and new and enhanced subscription tiers, will allow more music fans and artists to access the power of TIDAL
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