TIME MAGAZINE GOING IN ON TIDAL

[The_King_of_Everything]

http://time.com/3765268/tidal-music-jay-z-beyonce/

The launch event for the rapper's streaming service was a big mess

After its splashy launch press conference yesterday, the primary argument for Tidal—the two-tiered music service recently purchased by Jay Z that costs either $9.99 or $19.99 per month—is that artists deserve more money for their work. It’s not necessarily a wrongheaded argument, but the manner in which Jay Z and his contemporaries have pressed the point is embarrassingly out-of-touch.

There are real, systemic problems with current streaming services like Spotify, which stream music for free to listeners and distribute to artists a paltry fee drawn from advertising. That’s why Taylor Swift withdrew her hugely profitable catalog from the service last year. The argument Swift has been making is that music has inherent value; from her statements regarding Spotify to her op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, it’s a point she’s consistently made well. The argument Jay Z and his fellow stars at the Tidal launch (including Nicki Minaj, Madonna, and Beyoncé) are making is that they deserve to set the price point for their music. The supporting evidence for this claim? They want to set the price point for their music.

The rhetoric around Tidal was pretty funny, when it wasn’t embarrassing. A promotional video showed various celebrities gathering to discuss their master plan as Beyoncé, who would seem to know better, said “Every great movement started with a group of people being able to get together and really just make a stand.” From Seneca Falls, to Selma, to Stonewall, to Los Angeles, where a bunch of celebrities demanded that their fans give them more money—this country has such a rich history of protest movements.
Jokes aside, the celebrities at the Tidal launch press conference did a remarkably poor job of elucidating why the consumer accustomed to getting music for free should begin paying for it. In the age of Spotify, it is entirely legal to listen to music constantly and never spend money on it. Countering that fact with the moral claim that celebrities would prefer if you didn’t stream music for free only makes sense if you believe celebrities should get everything they want, one hundred percent of the time.

As for the rhetoric in the press conference that music is special and has a unique place in our culture: Music fans agree! That’s why they listen to music often, on services that provide that music for free. But rather than building a better system, Jay Z and friends have, so far, put their energy behind a product that’s more or less the same as Spotify, but more expensive. A product this pointless could, maybe, be sold as a charity case by artists who depend on every penny of fan support. But Jay Z, a rapper who wastes no opportunity to brag, on his records, about his business acumen, is not that figure. Based on the optics of the Tidal launch, his business acumen may have failed him this time.

 

[Leasy]

Of course they are an African owns it.

 

[Mac Casper]

Yo . . Streaming doesn't seem like the future. It seems like a future of demise for the industry

 

[bouncy]

Of course they are an African owns it.

I was going to write this too.

If it was a Bill Gates look alike, they would be in awe of a life changing event

fukking clowns

They did that with rap music, the way we dress, and now this.

 

[NotaPAWG]

Of course they are an African owns it.

No an African does not.. Multiple people have stake in it. But hey, keep fishing for daps. And just because a black person is the face of a business venture doesn't mean they can't be criticized. If anything, the criticism will help out the developers to deliver a product the average consumer will be interested in at an affordable price.

Every app or tech company receives or has recieved backlash by consumers. Whoever wrote this article is a consumer just like us. The criticism is valid.

 

[Mac Casper]

No an African does not.. Multiple people have stake in it. But hey, keep fishing for faps. And just because a black person is the face of a business venture doesn't mean they can't be criticized. If anything, the criticism will help out the developers to deliver a product the average consumer will be interested in at an affordable price.

That's literally the opposite of the issue here

 

[bouncy]

No an African does not.. Multiple people have stake in it. But hey, keep fishing for daps. And just because a black person is the face of a business venture doesn't mean they can't be criticized. If anything, the criticism will help out the developers to deliver a product the average consumer will be interested in at an affordable price.

Every app or tech company receives or has recieved backlash by consumers. Whoever wrote this article is a consumer just like us. The criticism is valid.

True, but, I seen this shyt happen damn near all of my life with these media publications when it comes to black people. They find anything wrong when it comes to us, and praise the average shyt for others. I pay these idiots no mind.

 

[Leasy]

No an African does not.. Multiple people have stake in it. But hey, keep fishing for daps. And just because a black person is the face of a business venture doesn't mean they can't be criticized. If anything, the criticism will help out the developers to deliver a product the average consumer will be interested in at an affordable price.

Every app or tech company receives or has recieved backlash by consumers. Whoever wrote this article is a consumer just like us. The criticism is valid.

So where is the backlash when Jimmy Iovine sells 300 dollar 50 dollar headphones with Dre pushing them???? Where is the backlash wit Apple and their expensive ass products. You are getting good quality sounding music not available anywhere and why all the fuss??? People complained about netflix jumping what 3 dollars.


Shut up

 

[TheBeigeBomber]

Of course they are an African owns it.

jewish people own it. jay doesnt own it. hes got a jews hand so far up his ass.

 

[blackslash]

And ofc the cacs gotta hate

 

[NotaPAWG]

That's literally the opposite of the issue here

No, it is the exact issue here. The problem with Tidal is trying to sell itself through celebrity endorsements and supports, instead of its tech.

No other popular app or successful tech company does this.

When Apple releases a new iPhone theh have developers up on stage talking that geek talk and then everyone is like "ohhhh the new iPhone has this, this and this"


All we know about tidal and the only offering it has is celebrity backing, expensive, for audiophiles and eats up your data. That's the general consensus and scoop.

 

[TheBeigeBomber]

i dont know anybody in real life that reads or knows what time magazine is

 

[Mandarin Duck]

The rhetoric around Tidal was pretty funny, when it wasn’t embarrassing. A promotional video showed various celebrities gathering to discuss their master plan as Beyoncé, who would seem to know better, said “Every great movement started with a group of people being able to get together and really just make a stand.” From Seneca Falls, to Selma, to Stonewall, to Los Angeles, where a bunch of celebrities demanded that their fans give them more money—this country has such a rich history of protest movements.

Idk how to feel about this

 

[bouncy]

No, it is the exact issue here. The problem with Tidal is trying to sell itself through celebrity endorsements and supports, instead of its tech.

No other popular app or successful tech company does this.

When Apple releases a new iPhone theh have developers up on stage talking that geek talk and then everyone is like "ohhhh the new iPhone has this, this and this"


All we know about tidal and the only offering it has is celebrity backing, expensive, for audiophiles and eats up your data. That's the general consensus and scoop.

Beats by Dre, which is the biggest headphone company, got so big because of celebrity endorsements, not because of sound quality. Most of their budget was for promotion because they had to pay so much people. They just now made the headphones better in terms of sound.

 

[Mac Casper]

No, it is the exact issue here. The problem with Tidal is trying to sell itself through celebrity endorsements and supports, instead of its tech.

No other popular app or successful tech company does this.

When Apple releases a new iPhone theh have developers up on stage talking that geek talk and then everyone is like "ohhhh the new iPhone has this, this and this"


All we know about tidal and the only offering it has is celebrity backing, expensive, for audiophiles and eats up your data. That's the general consensus and scoop.

Wow your comprehension skills leave much to be desired. You're clearly thinking of this just through a consumers lens and that's why you're missing the issue. You also have an infantile understanding of business

The problem with Tidal, like all streaming services, is that they haven't found a way to monetize the service enough so that it's a lucrative platform for the artists involved sure the endorsing artist getting a Tidal commercial is getting paid, everyone else is getting pennies.

Apple bought Jimmy Iovine so they can use Beats Music to fix this. They have aspirations of monopolizing the music industry