Tidal

Jay-Z pulls albums from Spotify and Apple Music [update: everything back to normal]

Rapper and entertainment mogul Shawn Carter, known to most as Jay-Z, has removed his albums from Apple Music and Spotify. As noted by MacRumors, all of his solo albums quietly disappeared from the two apps overnight.

It's not yet known if the decision was Carter's call, given that he owns the struggling music service Tidal, or a directive of wireless carrier Sprint, who recently purchased 33% of the company. Either way, the move is about exclusivity.

Update: Jay-Z's music is back on Apple Music. We are not sure what happened.

Sprint acquires 33 percent stake in Tidal, Jay Z’s Apple Music rival

U.S. wireless carrier Sprint announced Monday that it's buying one-third of Tidal, Jay Z's music-streaming service, in a bid to give customers exclusive content not available anywhere else. That's right, Tidal and its artists will produce exclusive content that will only be available to current and new Sprint customers.

While Sprint now owns 33 percent of Tidal, Jay Z & Co. will continue to run the artist-centric service. Sprint’s CEO Marcelo Claure will join Tidal’s Board of Directors.

Spotify punishing artists who sign exclusivity deals with competitors

Spotify has been punishing musicians who introduce new material exclusively on other streaming services, reports Bloomberg. Artists who have given Apple premier access to new music have been told that their songs won't be placed on featured playlists.

The Swedish music company has been using such practices for about a year, say sources, and the efforts have escalated during the past few months. Artists who have given exclusives to Jay-Z's Tidal streaming service have seen similar forms of retaliation.

NYT music reporter claims Apple won’t be acquiring Tidal after all

The Wall Street Journal ran a story yesterday claiming that Apple was in “exploratory talks” to acquire music service Tidal, which rap mogul Jay-Z bought in March 2015 for a reported $56 million.

Ostensibly, Apple's interest in Tidal revolves around its strong ties to artists: since the Jay-Z deal, Tidal has given 19 famous artists small stakes in the firm.

The Journal article cautioned that the current discussions might not result in a deal and now Ben Sisario, a music reporter at The New York Times, cited “two highly placed sources” as saying that Apple won't be buying Tidal anytime soon.

Apple said to be in talks to acquire streaming music service Tidal

Apple is in talks to acquire the streaming music service Tidal, reports The Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the outlet says the iPhone-maker is exploring the idea because of the service's strong ties to artists.

Rap mogul Jay-Z bought Tidal in March 2015 for $56 million, and has since given 19 famous artists small stakes in the company. The current talks with Apple may not result in a deal, and it's unknown what terms have been discussed.

Kanye West says his new album will never be available on Apple Music

It appears that Kanye West's highly anticipated new album "The Life of Pablo," isn't going to be available on Apple Music anytime soon. Amidst a tweet storm Monday afternoon, the controversial artist stated that the album will "never never never be on Apple."

West added that he has no plans to offer TLOP for sale either, and that the only way fans will be able to listen to the record is through Tidal—the streaming music service backed by Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, and other high profile musicians across various genres.

Streaming music service Tidal launches pricey new family plans

In response to Apple Music and other competitors, Tidal on Wednesday announced new family plans for its streaming music service. The new plans will allow up to 5 users to enjoy Tidal's Premium and HiFi service tiers at a significant discount from standalone rates.

It works like this: a standalone account for Tidal Premium costs $9.99 per month, and a HiFi account costs $19.99 per month. With family plans, users can add up to 4 additional users to their account at 50% off—$4.99/month for Premium, and $9.99/month for HiFi.

Jay Z, other prominent artists look to take over music streaming with Tidal

Shawn "Jay Z" Carter has banded together a formation of artists looking to take on the music streaming industry with Tidal, the music streaming company he bought for $56 million. With fierce competition from Spotify, Google, Rdio, and soon Apple, Jay Z has put together an elite list of artists that want the value of music to be recognized again. The group detailed their plans at a media event on Monday evening.