If you don’t know what TIDAL is, we’ve got all the details here.
We recently discovered just how invested Jay Z is in the streaming service. In a Q&A at NYU/Tisch School’s Clive Davis Instititue of Record Music, Jay answered a number of questions from students asked by faced Professor Errol Kolosine. Among these questions was one on whether major labels would be restricted from using the service. Jay said that they couldn’t do that, especially considering the nature of contracts. “If you don’t have a contract as an independent artist, then you can do whatever you want and we would love to work with you.”
The follow-up question on whether an artist could use TIDAL instead of a contract is what prompted the discovery that Jay longer has a record deal and suggests that all of his future music will be released on the service. “I’m on TIDAL. I don’t have a record deal. So, yes.”
What smaller independent artists will gain from the service is still an an outstanding question. TIDAL executive Vania Schlogel, who was also present at the Q&A, gave a very vague answer. “We’re still a very young, nascent company and we have a lot of initiatives that we’re working on, especially when it comes to indie talent, emerging talent, giving people visibility, giving people a forum to put their music up and giving them control of their distribution and their creative content.”
Jay mentioned the Discovery Plan, where new talent that any major artist has found on the service can thrive. He says by introducing these artists to the world, they will be “inspired by that sound. It gets a little ethereal from there, but just the possibilities of what TIDAL can do are really exciting, on a creative front.”
What will this mean for the future of the music industry? Will independent artists be able to use this as a platform to help them find their fans?
You can read the the rest of the interview here.