Get ready, there’s a #TIDAL wave coming in just a matter of hours. Blame Jay-Z…
With everything on Twitter turning blue, and a digital countdown down to the seconds on the site itself, the highly anticipated 5pm relaunch of TIDAL feels like a ticking bomb about to go off (though for their main rival Spotify, it might actually be one). As of this January the site now belongs to Mr.Shawn Carter for a shocking $56 million, which for Jay-Z is just petty cash. The details of the Scandinavian high-definition music streaming service are quite vague, other than the fact that it includes high definition audio and music videos, as well as expertly curated editorial. The overwhelming support of artists, from Madonna and Coldplay to Jay’s own protege Rihanna, tells us they know something we don’t. We’re keen to believe, like Jay himself said, that the tides are a changin’.
To coincide with the 5pm Eastern Time launch, there will be a live stream conference that promises to answer of all our buzzing questions. Jay-Z, of course, will be on hand to announce the “new direction for the music industry from both a creative and business perspective.” Rumours of TIDAL being a charity and also the first platform to release Rihanna’s new album have been squashed, but with blue coming out the ying yang on social media, it still has everyone talking — including Kanye (and we all know what happens when you get Kanye talking).
Yes, the #TIDALforall hype is real, and we can’t wait to see what all the buzz is about and judge for ourselves. That said, we still think it’s Miss Swift’s nod of approval that really matters, seeing as she publicly bashed Spotify in a Rolling Stone interview last year, calling it unfair an unfair platform that devalues artists. We don’t necessarily disagree with her opinions on the matter, but we’re curious to see how TIDAL will deal with these issues (though those of us on Fido won’t exactly turn down the free Spotify premium membership).
Needless to say, a #TIDAL wave is coming. Whether or not Kanye’s right that it will “make music history” is just hours away. We’re countin’ down…