[Roninaudio]

https://www.whathifi.com/news/tidal-in-trouble?utm_content=buffer84690&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

I know it's a tough road for this type business model. I.E. Spotify, Pandora etc...

[charmerci]

..in an age of FREE but mediocre-sounding music on youtube, mp3 sites, etc.

[JLM]

Yawn, yet another doomsday story regarding Tidal.

Even if it goes under won't something else replace it? 

Most of us would just go back to whatever we were using before.

[Wind Chaser]

And yet another report... https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/12/16768650/tidal-money-problems-sprint-investment

I’ve also heard reports of people canceling Tidal only to find their credit card is still being charged... Not cool.

I havent signed up yet but now I’m lthinking Deezer??

[Roninaudio]

I think the numbers are interesting;

Tidal claimed in 2016 that it had 3 million subscribers, but DN found that the number was closer to 1 million. Meanwhile, Spotify announced this summer that it had more than 60 million subscribers, while Apple Music has more than 30 million.

I have not tried TIDAL and I doubt I will.  I'm pretty happy with Spotify and Pandora (Not as good as Spotify imho) but I think anyone thinking of a subscription might be interested in the company's viability as it sounds like it is going "Pono".

One factor with me personally, with my digital set up and DAC, Even basic Spotify sounds really good. No real desire to pay for a "hi-res" stream. If I want hi-res files, I buy them and load them into my collection. Not sure how everyone else feels.  I was surprised as some pretty good software (Roon for example) has a TIDAL app. 

[mresseguie]

I think I'll continue to subscribe to TIDAL. If it dies, I'll search out the best replacement.

I really enjoy using TIDAL, and I feel my $20/month is well spent.

[Phil A]

And yet another report... https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/12/16768650/tidal-money-problems-sprint-investment

I’ve also heard reports of people canceling Tidal only to find their credit card is still being charged... Not cool.

I havent signed up yet but now I’m lthinking Deezer??

That happens with a good deal of subscriptions to things (e.g. gyms).  I have no interest in Tidal at any price but I think it is likely that before they just throw in the towel they will make an attempt to get more subscribers by indicating a price increase beyond a certain date and give current subscribers some sort of relief for a year at the same cost.  Once that happens it's a wait and see how many new subscribers they get and then how many more leave after that relief.

[wushuliu]

Tidal's end is an inevitability. It was bought to be sold. But Jay-z I think missed the window and the broadband/tech/media world is in the middle of some major changes. Someone posted elsewhere the market share of these services and all but 3 - Apple, Spotify, and I forget the third maybe Pandora - have miniscule market share. The smaller services simply cannot sustain over the long run. They will shut down or be assimilated.

Tidal in particular has been heckled unfairly from the get go, but I think the end goal was always to sell it at a huge profit just like Dre did with MOG, which became Beats, which them got bought by Apple for a billion. Jay-Z made a smart play, but I think his timing was just a little  off.

Deezer isn't going to fare much better. They supposedly have hi-res but as I understand it you have to some sort of 'partner' brand that will allow playback. So that shows you the model they had to take to not lose money through the nose.

Make no mistake, in the US consolidation is rapidly underway and hi-res is not a priority. And with zero transparency, you don't even know if you're getting true hi-res anyway. So hold on to those CDs and SACDs. Our international friends however, will continue to enjoy great services like Qobuz. The trends have been clear for years.

[Phil A]

Among many things I did when I worked, was work for a company that owned a cable company and one that experimented with piping entertainment stuff into homes and now offers it.  Their vision of entertainment for the home is to have the content on their servers and have people subscribe.  Just like cable, satellite, satellite radio, etc., would not surprise me to see Amazon make a deal (not to mention all the current debate about net neutrality at the FCC) with cable companies for priority for their streaming in exchange for something.  Would also not surprise me to see multiple tiers (e.g. MP3s, CD quality) of streaming offered.

[JDoyle]

This doesn't make business sense to me... I don't think Sprint would have bought in unless they had plans to invest in it.
I would agree with Jim Salk's reply to the "Sprint buy's 33% of Tidal" thread"

"Sprint's owner, Softbank, has tons of money at its disposal.  It is run by the richest man in Japan.  This is important because, as I recall, Tidal has yet to turn a profit. 

Softbank's involvement means it will have access to the funds to continue to develop. 

Plus, Softbank recently announced a $100 billion fund for AI (neural networks) research - $50 billion here in the US.  Imagine using something like Alexa to ask for music you like in broad terms and have Tidal find and play it for you...no clicking involved. It will certainly be interesting to see how this all rolls out.

- Jim "

 

John

[mav52]

I tell ya, tidal is making some money check this site out

https://thebusinessoftech.wordpress.com/tag/tidal/

The bigger issue is their money management, what happened to the $200 million provided by Sprint, the profits this document notes them getting a month.     

[randytsuch]

Interesting article about Tidal.
It does raise an interesting point, depending on how much the artists/owner's pay themselves, it may be more of a paper loss.  But I would expect the big investors have something to say on this.

I just got Tidal from the 6 month deal for buying a best buy CD, which made it 6 months for a few bucks.

Before I had it, I couldn't justify the ongoing monthly expense, but now that I have it I'll likely keep it.  I had free spotify, which is unfair to compare it to.
It makes it so easy to check out new music.

Randy