‘Samsung Town,’ Seoul, South Korea
According to the New York Post, Samsung has been having ”on-and-off talks” with Tidal about potentially purchasing the music streaming service.
There’s little doubt that Tidal has been struggling in the shadows of Spotify and Apple Music, so it’s no wonder that these talks are starting to surface. Since launch, the company has been faced with widespread skepticism, executive instability, not to mention alleged lawsuits. Just today, it has been reported that Tidal has just been hit with a $5 million lawsuit for alleged copyright infringement and unpaid royalties.
The streaming service can’t seem to stabilize, and Jay Z is reportedly starting to feel the pressure.
So, is this a step to alleviate some of the pressure? Is Jay Z calling it quits? It’s highly unlikely that Jay Z would dump Tidal after 16 months of nurturing it since launch, especially given the time and energy spent shaping this company’s reintroduction. Then again, the streaming service has been treading rough waters with a number of mishaps, starting with the accidental leaking of Rhianna’s ANTI album, where it appeared live on Tidal for about 20 minutes before being removed.
Kanye’s release offered a big shot in the arm, with Tidal subscribers potentially booming in the wake well-placed exclusive. But Kanye may have lost: ‘The Life of Pablo’ didn’t even make the charts, thanks to Tidal’s refusal to release data to tracking authority Nielsen Music. The limited exclusive also cause the album to illegally downloaded more than half-a-million times, according to an estimate by Torrentfreak.
Oh, we should also note this is pure speculation, it did appear in the New York Post, and there’s been no comment from either Tidal or Samsung. So there’s that.
What I’d like to see are the royalty rates people are getting. With both Tidal and Apple Music in the mix I think we are long overdue for an article comparing the going rates for all major services.
Right. I’m hearing that Apple Music royalties are way higher than Spotify, for the simple reason that it’s paid only (so you’re either paying $9.99 a month, or free trial for a limited time). Tidal has a similar structure, which suggests the royalties would also be higher.
C’mon artists and labels! Send me some royalty statements! paul@…
Tidal is about to get fucked. They own millions in royalties. Go check your reports for August through November. No US streams. But then in December, they start up again. Hmmm…