When Jay Z announced the March launch of his new music-streaming service Tidal, there was only one thing more evident than just how far-reaching the hip-hop mogul’s network is — everyone was waiting for Tidal to fail.
Before Tidal officially hit the market, bloggers and reporters were busy detailing what they believed would be an epic failure.
Industry professionals insisted that Jay Z’s latest endeavor would do nothing more than expose the “limit of his celebrity,” and reviews scoffed at the idea of paying for a music-streaming service when so many free options are already out on the market.
So when Tidal quickly dropped out of the top 700 downloads on the iTunes App store, the reactions varied from “I told you so” to accusations that Jay Z and Beyonce’s every move for the next year or so would be desperate attempts to save a so-called sinking ship.
Jay Z, and the Blerds team, believe that critics have the situation all wrong.
“Tidal is doing just fine,” he tweeted in response to all the backlash. “We have over 770,000 subs. We have been in business less than one month. #TidalFacts.”
As we previously reported, it seemed unusually early for Tidal to be considered a failure simply because it wasn’t keeping up with streaming services like Spotify and Pandora that have years of experience under their belt.
“The iTunes Store wasn’t built in a day,” Jay Z continued on Twitter. “It took Spotify 9 years to be successful…We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow & get better. #TidalFacts.”
He even accused other companies of signing huge checks just to put out smear campaigns against the new service.
“There are many big companies that are spending millions on a smear campaign,” he added. “We are not anti-anyone, we are pro-artist & fan. #TidalFacts.”
In addition to asking people for more time before judging the new app, he also reminded everyone that when it comes to comparing the service, Spotify and Pandora still aren’t the best matches.
The service isn’t just about streaming music for a quick workout or a long road trip. It’s about giving fans access to exclusive content that builds on their relationship with the artists they love and adore.
“We made Tidal for fans,” he added. “We have more than just music. We have video, exclusive concerts, tickets for events early, live sports….Tidal is where artists can give their fans more without the middlemen. #TidalFacts.”
He continued to explain the difference between Tidal and other streaming services and emphasizing the principle at the very core of the app.
Tidal’s mission is to keep the integrity of the music and stop slashing the amount of revenue artists can make through streaming as it continues its steady incline to become the most popular method used for listening to music.
“Our actions will speak louder than words,” another tweet read. “We made Tidal to bring people the best experiences and to help artists give that to their fans over and over again. We are human (even Daft Punk ha). We aren’t perfect—but we are determined. #TidalFacts.”
Tidal is certainly going to have a tough road ahead as it is bringing a relatively new concept to the marketplace with a streaming service that actually does a lot more than just play music.
When it comes down to it, however, the service is not necessarily competing for numbers.
The number of people who just want to listen to certain music easily outnumbers the number of people who not only want to listen to an artist but also want to see their behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive interviews and more.
As Jay Z said, Tidal is a service specifically for the dedicated fans.
Tidal very well could turn out to be a tremendous failure for the hip-hop mogul, but it only seems right that the service is at least given a chance to grow and evolve before it’s bashed as a “flop” after only a few weeks of being in existence.
The Pitch 