TIDAL launches a free music tier which will only be available in the US together with two enhanced HiFi tiers. TIDAL now offers three membership options – TIDAL Free (US-only), TIDAL HiFi, and TIDAL HiFi Plus. Both HiFi tiers are available in all of TIDAL’s 61 international markets with plans to extend the free tier to other markets in the future. All tiers have access to the same catalogue of over 80 million songs, videos and curated playlists.
TIDAL Subscription plans
- TIDAL Free (US only): Music fans can now try TIDAL at no cost, with access to the entire music catalogue and playlists, with limited interruptions.
- TIDAL HiFi: At $9.99/month, this tier offers interruption-free access to HiFi sound quality. With TIDAL HiFi, members have offline capabilities, access to features like TIDAL Connect and My Activity, which provides individualized daily listening insights.
- TIDAL HiFi Plus: For $19.99/month, HiFi Plus features everything the HiFi tier offers, in addition the introduction of fan-centred royalties and direct-to-artist payments. HiFi Plus will also continue to provide access to the best-in-class immersive sound formats (Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Audio Recordings) and Master Quality Authenticated (MQA), alongside early access to exclusive offerings and future features.
New ways for artists to get paid
TIDAL announced a number of new updates to the product experience for music fans and artists alike. The enhancements deliver on TIDAL’s mission to create a sustainable, artist-first and fan-centric business model for the music industry and include direct-to-artist payments and fan-centred royalties. With support from its record label and distributor partners, TIDAL is going beyond current industry standards to make royalty payments more transparent for artists and rights holders.
It is creating tools that prioritize the artist experience which is central to TIDAL’s new transparency and revenue features. These include:
- Direct-to-artist payments – Beginning today, TIDAL will launch monthly direct-to-artist payments. This innovative program will give artists access to an additional payment stream, so they can benefit directly from their biggest fans on TIDAL. Each month, a percentage of HiFi Plus subscribers’ membership fees will be directed towards their top streamed artist, which they will see in their activity feed. This direct-to-artist payment is in addition to their streaming royalties.
- Fan-centred royalties – Starting in 2022, TIDAL is taking a different approach on royalties. In this new model, royalties attributed to HiFi Plus subscribers will not be aggregated. Rather, royalties will be paid based on the actual streaming activity of individual HiFi Plus subscribers as opposed to the industry accepted method of aggregating streams, empowering fans to play a larger role in the success of their favourite artists.
TIDAL has linked up with Square, Cash App, and PayPal to help ensure quick and seamless payouts to artists globally. TIDAL also has partnered with leading distributors CD Baby, DistroKid, Stem, Symphonic, and Tunecore, with Equity Distribution and Vydia launching soon, to ensure artists sharing music through those platforms are able to receive their payments via in-platform registration seamlessly.
Jesse Dorogusker, Head of TIDAL said, “We’re building a platform that values art, artists, and culture, and for the first time opening the platform experience up to a wider group of fans with the free tier. TIDAL is also supporting artists with fairer earning terms and quicker payments, and fans are getting a better way to support their favorite artists. These offerings are the first step of many, and we’re excited to collaborate with artists to evolve our tools to help them continue to grow and create on their own terms.”
