Writing Great Songs

If you have ever found yourself at a party trying to explain to someone that you hate MP4’s because of the way they make Stewart Copeland’s incredible Hi-Hat riffs on Peter Gabriel’s Red Rain, than Tidal may be what you have been looking for.  Look, I know you love you collection fo new and vintage vinyl, but you are not going to get very far with the record player in the car. and let’s face it we know how great you are at curating great playlists, but you are not going to get those songs pressed to vinyl so unless you like spending the evening behind two turntables and a microphone, Tidal may be where it’s at.

TIDAL is a high fidelity, lossless music streaming service a prerequisite to enjoying music the way it was intended by the artists.with 25 million tracks, 75,000 music videos, and expert editorial from experienced music journalists. Aimed at audiophiles (and wanna be audiophiles) who appreciate quality on any level and want to enjoy music the way it was intended to sound by the artists. TIDAL is now live in the US, Canada, the UK and many countries worldwide and for a monthly subscription with a 30-day free trial.

TIDAL’s editors hand pick the music presented in the service, personally selecting and showcasing the best new albums and tracks across all genres every day, and provide:

• Album spotlights such as Album of The Week, Classical Album of the Month, and HiFi Album of The Month
• Playlists with a mission to educate, entertain, and enrich the music experience via in-depth knowledge
• Close-ups on artists, labels, sub-genres, and historical eras
• Weekly playlists that present highlights from this week’s news and top recommended tracks
• Weekly artist interviews, magazine features, and daily magazine articles

“ TIDAL reflects our mission to deliver the highest quality music streaming service. From making sure there’s no loss in sound quality to telling the stories behind the creation of the music, we aim to maximize the listening experience. We are catering to people who really appreciate the quality things in life, whether that is music, sound or lifestyle, because quality should not be compromised and because music fans now demand more from their music service.” Tidal CEO Andy Chen.

TIDAL at a glance:

• More than 25 million music tracks
• Lossless sound quality (FLAC/ALAC 44.1kHz / 16 bit – 1411 kbps)
• More than 75,000 music videos
• Curated editorial provided by experienced music journalists
• Dedicated apps available for iOS and Android devices
• Web player for PC/MAC
• Support for a wide range of home music network players

TIDAL for Independent Artists?

TIDAL has agreements with all major record companies, Universal, Warner and Sony, as well as many of the smaller independent companies. If you are a signed artist check with yoru label and see if they have an agreement with Tidal. For unsigned artists, you will need to register at one of these services:

1. Record Union; a distribution platform used by thousands of artists and labels around the world to publish and sell their music online.
2. AWAL: one of the world’s leading digital distribution companies. AWAL empowers artists and labels to take control of their digital business.
3. Ditto Music: distribute your music to the world’s leading digital platforms – the download stores that mean business and sales.They will also help you set up your own label the way you want.

Tidal Wave?

Tidal has also come under fire recently for being more about protecting and advancing the rights of super rich elite artist who have founded it than about high fidelity audio. This is definitely a premium service, more expensive than most out there and the enhanced audio quality is really only relevant to people who have audio systems that can play back that his quality. For example if you are listening on the headphones that came with your iPhone, you are not going to notice a difference. Some industry observers also say that the added quality is beyond the appreciation of most music consumers. A generation raised on MP3s may not notice as much as the aging hipster. That being said it seems that the quest to increase the audio quality in music is an important one and that over time technology will level this out, making high quality audio streaming more the norm than the exception.