Tidal in trouble?

Inscrutable

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After JayZ probably trying to prop it up with his 444 release, still hearing it struggling and questioning its longevity.

Although I’d love to see reasonable execution and availability of hirez streaming, having jumped in too soon on the Pono broken-down bandwagon makes me skeptical of anyone surviving pushing that rope. Think I am resigning myself to physical or downloaded ‘owned’ media .
 
Could it be that Tidal's woes are 2 or even 3 fold? First, it is competing with giants who don't seem to care if their services are profitable or not because they serve to tie in and augment other hardware/software they have that does make money.

Second, Tidal went all out on the gamble that people will care about the sound quality enough to pay an extra 10 a month for MQA which when one thinks about it must be a PITA trying to get authorization from original artists as to which master was actually the original. This MQA works great for us audiophiles who have the gear and ears to tell the difference, but that piece of the total pie is very small compared to the vast majority who just play it on whatever is handy where the difference between MQA and just 320mp3 is non-existent.

The third problem for Tidal is its seemingly lack of customization tailored to the music the subscriber actually likes to listen to. Instead of pushing rap on everyone who enters, they would do well to ask the new subscriber what sort of listener they are. Maybe JayZ is really trying to promote his chosen genre more than his streaming company, I don't know.
 
Could it be that Tidal's woes are 2 or even 3 fold? First, it is competing with giants who don't seem to care if their services are profitable or not because they serve to tie in and augment other hardware/software they have that does make money.

Second, Tidal went all out on the gamble that people will care about the sound quality enough to pay an extra 10 a month for MQA which when one thinks about it must be a PITA trying to get authorization from original artists as to which master was actually the original. This MQA works great for us audiophiles who have the gear and ears to tell the difference, but that piece of the total pie is very small compared to the vast majority who just play it on whatever is handy where the difference between MQA and just 320mp3 is non-existent.

The third problem for Tidal is its seemingly lack of customization tailored to the music the subscriber actually likes to listen to. Instead of pushing rap on everyone who enters, they would do well to ask the new subscriber what sort of listener they are. Maybe JayZ is really trying to promote his chosen genre more than his streaming company, I don't know.

Had to drag this up. I'm using Tidal now, and love it. It is better sounding then the other ones I use. But I just use HiFi which is CD quality lossless AFAIK. I should point out that the extra $10 is for this. MQA was a free add on.

I agree about the rap. They need to ask you. But I'm happy to find my own music as long as I get better quality. Which brings me to why I resurrected this thread.

Does anyone know what's actually going on with them? Are they struggling for real? Is that why I managed to get a free 6 month trial with music purchase at Best Buy?

Either way. I'm glad I saw this. I was leaning towards paying the $20 a month anyway, but hearing they're not doing so well. I'm definitely going to pay the $20 a month now. I don't want to lose it. I know there's qboz or whatever it is. And Spotify premium is good too. But I like knowing it's CD quality. Perfect for my NOS DAC.
 
All streaming services are always in trouble according to every tech journalist with the barest hint of a pulse. Anybody who’s on the fence about joining should just do it and enjoy it while they can. Maybe folks joining up would even improve Tidal’s outlook. I don’t use it for their music suggestions or curated playlists but I also don’t think about whether or not it’ll be there tomorrow. I just look up what I want to listen to and enjoy it.
 
All streaming services are always in trouble according to every tech journalist with the barest hint of a pulse. Anybody who’s on the fence about joining should just do it and enjoy it while they can. Maybe folks joining up would even improve Tidal’s outlook. I don’t use it for their music suggestions or curated playlists but I also don’t think about whether or not it’ll be there tomorrow. I just look up what I want to listen to and enjoy it.

That's pretty much how I roll. I pick a band, and choose an album. Or just choose a band and play the top tracks. Just let it roll. Sometimes I'll get to the 130's if I fall asleep with it on, or leave it rolling all day. Just put on Jethro Tull that way actually.

And I'm already subscribed. Once my free trial is up. They're going to start charging me, and I'm fine with that. I think it's great.
 
Anybody who’s on the fence about joining should just do it ...
That’s what I thought when I bought a Pony player :(

But, if you can believe it, the latest review (in S’phile) of the LG V30 as a player with MQA has got me back on the fence and also thinking about phone features for first time ever.
 
The third problem for Tidal is its seemingly lack of customization tailored to the music the subscriber actually likes to listen to
That was one of my concerns earlier. How is their selection for rock, blues, jazz ...?
 
That’s what I thought when I bought a Pony player :(

But, if you can believe it, the latest review (in S’phile) of the LG V30 as a player with MQA has got me back on the fence and also thinking about phone features for first time ever.
I went all in on the previous model, the LG V20. It’s wonderful with streaming as well as 24-but/96khz flac files from Bandcamp and HD Tracks. (I haven’t bought higher res because that’s the limit of the dac in my main system). That’s all I use the V20 for, otherwise I’m an iPhone user. It’s just a music player with a data connection. Therefore I can’t justify the V30. The only upgrade on the V30’s audio output is MQA capability. The DAC and headphone amp are still the same chipset.

Now, if you’re an android user, the V30 is beautiful, the camera is okay, and the audio output is still excellent even if you’re not using MQA. My boss (I work for a phone carrier) has told me I’m on the list for a free one if my store comes up for free LG advocate phones, but I still couldn’t justify buying it when the V20 does 95% of what the V30 does when it comes to audio playback.
 
Not military, and don't plan on doing the stolen Valor thing to get a discount. lol

Thank you though. I didn't know they did that. That's actual really cool.
 
That was one of my concerns earlier. How is their selection for rock, blues, jazz ...?

I do occasionally run across a CD I can not find, but more frequently see stuff I never know existed. That being said I do tend to search out some little-known artists. For example, I was recently looking for Kip Hanrahan ‎recordings on the 'american clave' label, they had 4-5 but were missing the three I wanted. You can request that they add specific titles that are available commercially.

For mainstream rock, blues and jazz releases the selection is huge, HUGE!

Costs nothing to try.
 
problem for Tidal is its seemingly lack of customization tailored to the music the subscriber

I never really pay any attention to what is on the screen when I open the Tidal app as I go straight to "My Collection" but after reading thru this thread I actually paid attention. On my iPhone and iPad Tidal suggested new tracks are right below the scrolling "Featured" new stuff. It is all in line with what I listen to, Metal, Classic Rock, Blues, Jazz etc. :dunno:

Just opened it on my work Win10 laptop and not so much. I am guessing there is a way to set it up like most pages on the interwebs but it is really not that big of a deal to me. I typically know what I am after or I said go straight to "My Collection"

:beerchug:
 
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I know this thread is old, but for what It's worth I trialed the mqa version of Tidal and decided I was dumping everything else and sticking with it within 3 days. I love it and I'm not a rap/hip hop listener. Thwy have enough classical, plenty of rock of all sorts. EDM, Jazz and Blues, Indie, Folk. Not sure what I'd do if they tanked...guess go back to Spotify.
 
I listen to mostly everything, including hip hop. I really enjoy the mqa! Quite a difference doing a back to back mqa vs cd! Talk about making your ears bleed! I'll be sad if Tidal tanks!
 
This is an old 2017 post. Time for a 2019 update, 4 years after Jay-Z’s acquisition of Aspiro AB for $56 million in 2015. The music streaming company named “TIDAL” is now worth over $600 million in 2019.

TIDAL in my opinion is Jay-Z’s music playground, created by music artist, for the people. The owner can promote whatever genre of music he pleases on his playground. Instead of the billionaire artist blowing money on gold chains and green Lamborghinis, he invested in the only high resolution music streaming service available in America at that time for all to enjoy.

The music suggestions get better the more you use the music service. I like classical music and some pop music that happens to be in MQA.
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The TIDAL created playlist and album suggestions reflect my music genre preferences.

In conclusion, TIDAL is not going away anytime soon. Quite the contrary; TIDAL is growing in leaps and bounds. The 3 major record labels (Sony, Universal, and Warner music groups) support of the controversial / revolutionary MQA format, which no other streaming service provides, is helping to fuel TIDAL’s growth. Not to mention Sprint’s $200 million TIDAL corporate investment and Sprint’s 45 million customers access to free streaming of TIDAL; It should be pretty smooth sailing for at least the next 10 years.:D

Enough cheerleading, Time to Enjoy the Music.:music:
 
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I’m sure there are those that favor the demise of TIDAL with MQA, and they would rather not hear about anything good in regards to TIDAL’s ongoing success, for reasons I could only speculate. :idea:
 
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I listen to mostly everything, including hip hop. I really enjoy the mqa! I'll be sad if Tidal tanks!

I too, find it hard listening to streaming CD quality music. I think I would stop listening to music if TIDAL with MQA Hi-Res audio tanks.;)
 
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