Tidal’s decision to focus on the artist-owned aspect of the platform glossed over the elements that really make the service special: namely its ability to deliver specialized content not available on competitive platforms like Spotify. Paying artists for their intellectual property is a topic worthy of discussion, but it’s not the most-pressing issue on most consumers’ minds. Savvy fans and journalists recognized this disconnect and called foul. One of the reasons the Tidal launch fell flat is that it tried to make itself into a social justice platform when it’s actually a commercial venture. Here are some important points to remember when developing a product or company launch.
JAY Z ON TO THE NEXT ONE TOPIC DOWNLOAD
The initial burst of bad publicity soon swelled into (ahem!) a tidal wave, with a round of layoffs that included the CEO, revelations that the app had fallen from the iPhone top 700 download chart, leaked - and possibly fake - royalty statements, and an epic Twitter rant from Jay Z himself. In the months since, Tidal has struggled to respond to critics and find solid footing. for failing to spotlight independent and unsigned artists struggling to eke out a living in the music business.
Even fellow musicians scoffed at Jay Z & Co. Fans mocked the event on Twitter, calling it a faux starving artists’ campaign. While the event certainly conferred star power, it was also viewed by many as being a little, well, tone deaf.
And that’s precisely what happened when Jay Z and a contingent of music industry superstars, including Madonna, Kanye West and Rihanna, got together to launch Tidal, a subscription streaming service touting its higher pay rates for artists. In real life, though, dreams have a way of turning into nightmares.
On paper, it must have seemed like a dream launch strategy: A stage packed with the world’s most famous musicians joining together to sing the praises of the first artist-owned digital music platform, designed to single handedly rescue the music industry.
0 kommentar(er)
