Limited information is available, but per a press release (via Digital Trends), the new feature is currently in its testing phase. The “DJ” feature is only available at the moment to U.S.-based subscribers, but listening to the HiFi Plus member’s “session” is open to all users.

HiFi Plus members on the iOS-only beta app can now share full albums and songs with text and emojis. From there, users can share the playlists via social media or text message.

This adds to TIDAL’s growing list of features; a free tier of its streaming service recently debuted. The free tier offers a lower listening quality than its paid services and carries no offline listening. Along with this, TIDAL uses limited interruptions to educate listeners about the music industry.

A first-of-its-kind royalty format is also a part of TIDAL’s feature list, allowing users to give a share of their subscription fee as royalty to their most listened to artists.

TIDAL HiFi Plus is available for $14.99 per month. TIDAL HiFi is available for $9.99 per month. Both services come with a 30-day free trial.

Find more information as it develops and apply for beta access on Tidal’s website.  

Specialized genre playlists from across the app’s library are co-curated by TIDAL’s editorial team as well as various guest artists and DJs. The update also includes BPM-specific playlists and instrumentals, acapellas, and other toolkits for DJs of all skill levels. 

The update to its DJ content is a result of Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey recently acquiring a majority ownership stake in TIDAL. The high-fidelity music streaming platform’s original artist co-owners will be the second largest group of shareholders in the company.

Recording artist Jay-Z – the original buyer of TIDAL in 2015 – is also joining Square’s board of directors.

This decision, according to Dorsey, is to “[find] new ways for artists to support their work.”

Square is acquiring a majority ownership stake in TIDAL through a new joint venture, with the original artists becoming the second largest group of shareholders, and JAY-Z joining the Square board. Why would a music streaming company and a financial services company join forces?!

— jack (@jack) March 4, 2021

Software Integration

TIDAL’s leadership has noticed a rise in DJs using the integrated platforms Serato, Rekordbox, and Algoriddim Djay. In the latest update, TIDAL includes new integration with Hercules’ DJUCED software and mobile phone/tablet app Edjing Mix.

TIDAL’s music and video subscription service costs $10 a month. For $20 a month, a TIDAL HiFi subscription offers the highest possible quality of audio.

Find more information on the TIDAL website.

The simply titled Edit Mode allows users to splice audio and make custom versions of song files. Functions such as extending intros and outros and removing breakdowns in tracks can now be performed within the app – no DAW export required. The Beatgrid – normally to set quantization in order to sync tracks across Pioneer media players and controllers – serves as the arrangement window. A Palette function stores and organizes clips as the track is edited, and project file saving is available to make changes to tracks at any time within Rekordbox.

A Creative subscription plan starts at $15/month (with a 30-day free trial) in order to use Edit Mode and other features, such as their new Vocal Detection Algorithm.

A TIDAL subscription introduces integration with Rekordbox as well as over 60 million high-quality songs and music videos. Once paired with TIDAL, a Hardware Unlock device – like their latest CDJ-3000 or DJM-V10 mixer – can use the update in Performance Mode along with any Pioneer subscription plan.

The flagship version of Pioneer DJ’s Rekordbox was introduced in 2009, with their first mobile app (1.5.2) being introduced in 2012. The 3.0 upgrade in the summer of 2014 made the interface more intuitive with a two-deck player mode and tagging systems. In late 2015, Rekordbox DJ Pro Plus subscription packages were made available, giving users various levels of access to pioneer performance tools and other features.

Sanders, the new CEO, accepted the leadership position at TIDAL, leaving his role as president and chief revenue officer of Kobalt Music Group. Sanders will be the fourth CEO that TIDAL has hired since 2015.

Bringing on a former chief revenue officer appears to be a push in a positive direction for Tidal as the company’s issues chiefly revolve around revenue.

TIDAL lost an estimated $28 million in 2015, a nearly threefold increase since 2014, when they reported loss of only $10 million. Royalties appear to be the company’s largest expense; it paid $35 million to labels and artists in 2015.

Large-scale streaming companies such as Spotify and SoundCloud also constantly battle paying fair royalties against meager revenues from users reluctant to invest in their higher service tiers. Subscription costs rarely scale proportionately to royalty expense increase, often turning the finances of streaming platforms further upside down.

TIDAL appears to be approaching this cash flow issue by creatively pursuing new cash flow-generating partnerships. Earlier this year, the company announced that it landed a $200 million deal with telecom giant Sprint. The cell phone carrier hopes to integrate TIDAL into its business model, directly competing with Apple Music and Google Play.

Kanye West, once a part-owner of TIDAL, reportedly left the company this summer over unpaid royalties from an exclusive streaming deal. Daft Punk, deadmau5, and Calvin Harris are assumed to still be major shareholders of the streaming platform.

Source: EDM Tunes

According to TMZ, West’s lawyers had written Tidal to inform them that he would be cutting ties with the company over their alleged breach of contract. In response, Tidal has threatened to file suit if Kanye West partners with another streaming service.

Good Intentions

Ironically, Jay Z founded Tidal in 2014 with the welfare of artists in mind. Aside from lossless audio and high-definition video, paying out the highest percentage of royalties was core to the brand’s mission statement. West was among a group of artists including deadmau5, Calvin Harris, Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Jack White who at one time or another owned equity in the company.

However, West’s lawyers allege that he had been promised a bonus for his 2016 album The Life of Pablo bringing 1.5 million new subscribers to the service that he never received – and for music video reimbursements.

Neither Kanye West nor Jay-Z have issued an official statement about the former artist parting ways with Tidal as of this writing.

Source: EDM.com