The jury is still out on TIDAL, but if there is one thing they have been good at doing is starting a conversation. Seemingly everyone has an opinion on the only month-old relaunch of the Jay Z purchased hi-fidelity streaming service that has taken criticism from all corners of the industry for seeming out of touch and elitist. Artists like Mumford & Sons and Lily Allen have all shared their own input, saying it would only benefit the elite mainstream artists, echoed by many fans that have seen the company rollout with 16 of the biggest names in music there to back the product. Amy Thomson, founder of ATM Artists, who was the manager of Swedish House Mafia and currently overseas artists like Axwell / Ingrosso, Dirty South and Alesso, penned an open letter for Thump on her thoughts for how Jay Z can turn the tide in his favor.
One of the main points made in the open letter is that the decision to subscribe to a service like TIDAL or Spotify is made by a consumer because they feel the user experience is worth paying the money. The Internet has made music free and that is just the way it is.
"No one, and I do mean no one, upgrades to Spotify Premium hoping that Taylor Swift gets paid. The decision is a consumer one, and the content created by the music business is one aspect, not the whole aspect, of the commitment."
She then gives a smart way to turn the PR tide in his favor - let the kids who subscribe not just be subscribers, but actual shareholders. Let them actually be a part of the process at TIDAL.
"Make kids partners in Tidal with you. Make it a cooperative. If you subscribe, you buy in. You go into business with Jay Z and Kanye West and all those other fine artists. What kid doesn't want to say that?"
"Make kids shareholders with you and watch them grow it. Make them entrepreneurs. Make them... you."
Thomson goes on to recommend way to build out a whole experience, which we are starting to see take shape in the form of live events and exclusive content. She goes further with brand opportunities, a free section for unsigned bands to help break artists (possibly the best idea and easiest idea from the whole article) and creating an experience around the music that the consumer can be proud to own.
These suggestions seem like a good start, however the problem remains the same with TIDAL as it does with Spotify and other streaming services - royalty payouts to artists, not labels. TIDAL executive Vania Schloegel in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter clarified Jay Z's original claims of 75 percent going to artists. In fact 62.5 percent goes to labels and 12.5 percent to artists through publishers, as opposed to 60 / 10 that is the standard industry rate. Until this is balanced all of the reforms will go to waste.
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