In the course of over a month of relaunching and in turn, receiving reservations from the industry, American rapper Jay Z must have been enraged as he defended his music streaming service Tidal on Twitter last Sunday. In a series of tweets posted in rapid succession, the rapper said that his company is doing fine and revealed that they have over 770,000 subscribers to date.
Shawn Carter, 45, also known as Jay Z, isn't known to be a fan of the social media. With over 3 million followers, he must be vehement for tweeting. The rapper's tweets were shortly followed explaining that Tidal still has a long road to run from its rivals Spotify and iTunes. "We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow & get better. #TidalFacts," he wrote amidst the flurry of posts.
The entertainment mogul bought Tidal's parent Aspiro, a Swedish technology company, for a reported $56 million in January. The app was launched last year and was made to reboot by the rapper last March at a star-studded gathering. Since then, it has received a fair share of criticism from the music industry.
Death Cab for Cutie Frontman on Tidal: "This thing is going to fail miserably," Mumford and Sons, Lily Allen Join Tidal Diss List
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Death Cab for Cutie lead vocalist Ben Gibbard expressed his opinion for the rapper's company. "I think they totally blew it by bringing out a bunch of millionaires and billionaires and propping them up onstage and then having them all complain about not being paid," he said. Gibbard has also somewhat foreseen the future of the company: "That's why this thing is going to fail miserably."
Marcus Mumford from the British rock band Mumford and Sons also had something to say about Jay Z's Tidal: "We wouldn't have joined it anyway, even if they had asked. We don't want to be tribal," he said in a separate interview. "Fuck You" singer Lily Allen also laid her finger on the music streaming service. She wrote in a tweet "People are going to swarm back to pirate sites in droves," probably referring to Tidal's pricey subscription fee compared to one of its rivals Spotify. "My concern is that Tidal may set emerging artists back," the English singer posted on another Tweet.
Tidal hasn't only received banters from musicians but is also struggling to cope up itself. Earlier this month, CEO Andy Chen left the company. The app also fell below 700 to Apple's app store rankings while its rivals are still making to the upper positions.
Meanwhile, amidst the criticism and tough times, the rapper is resolute on continuing what he started. In the sequel of tweets, he followed with an accusation saying unnamed companies "spending millions in a smear campaign" against Tidal. He followed immediately with his defense that the company is pro-artist and fan. He also has some words for competitors: "Rich getting richer? Equity values... YouTube $390 billion. Apple $760 billion. Spotify $8 billion. Tidal $60 million. #TidalFacts."
At long last, the "Empire State" hitmaker concluded his parade of tweets with a heartfelt message mentioning two of his co-founders. "We are human (even Daft Punk ha). We aren't perfect - but we are determined. #TidalFacts," he wrote at length.
With the amount of problems Tidal is facing today, do you think Jay Z's company will survive? Or will it meet its impending doom? More interestingly, will it topple Spotify and iTunes considering Apple will release its own Beats Music? We need your thoughts in the discussion section below!
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