How artists helped Jay-Z's Tidal music streaming service trend on Twitter with #TIDAL4All
Jay-Z's artist-owned music streaming platform Tidal was launched on Monday in a lavish event featuring a whole host of top stars in the industry.
The group made top use of social media to get Monday's launch trending on Twitter worldwide with the hashtag #TIDAL4All.
Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Usher, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Calvin Harris, Usher, DeadMau5, Daft Punk and more attended the event unveiling their endorsement of Tidal, a streaming service designed to grant musicians fairer shares of the streaming revenue, following Taylor Swift's very public condemnation of Spotify's payment structure.
The Swedish service, which was snapped up by Jay-Z earlier this month for $56m, was widely mocked for the deeply philosophical musings of its stars.
Tidal co-owner Alicia Keys confounded viewers with a Freidrich Nietzsche quote: “Without music, life would be a mistake.”
We want to create a better service and a better experience for both fans and artists, Music is the world’s sole universal language… music brings us together and gives us experiences that last a lifetime.”
She concluded: "I is a place for connection between artists and fans,” adding that the platform will provide fans unprecedented access to the musicians.
Jay-Z also pitched in, claiming the service will "change the course of history".
The service will be rebranded TidalHiFi, and a subscription will cost £20 per month for access to high definition audio streaming, double that of a Spotify's £9.99 Premium subscription.
Generating buzz for the launch, participating artists shared their support of the platform to over 100 million Twitter users.
Nikki Minaj (19.1m Twitter followers) was among the artists encouraging social media users to change their profile blue pictures to show solidarity with artists…
Change your avi in support of what is fair, of what is the future. The tides have changed, Barbz.… https://t.co/UqGLHerO37
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) March 30, 2015
As did Kanye West (11.8m followers):
Together, we can turn the tide and make music history. Start by turning your profile picture blue. #TIDALforALL — KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 30, 2015And Coldplay (14.4m followers):
If you want to join us in something exciting, please turn your profile blue #TIDALforALL PH pic.twitter.com/1IxBJnMTGH
— Coldplay (@coldplay) March 30, 2015
Madonna (686k followers):
Music makes the people come together. Join Madonna and turn your profile picture blue. Do it for the music. #TIDALforALL — Madonna (@Madonna) March 30, 2015Usher (10.2m followers):
It's time to turn the tide and make music history. Show you are part of the movement by turning your profile pic blue. #TIDALforALL
— Usher Raymond IV (@Usher) March 30, 2015
Rihanna (43m followers):
NAVY, turn the tide…#MakeMusicHistory #TurnitBlue #TIDALforALL — Rihanna (@rihanna) March 30, 2015And Mr Carter (3.13m followers):
"The Tides They Are-A Changing" #TIDALforALL
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) March 30, 2015
Next the artists partook in the signing of the Tidal pledge, which saw Madonna scale a table for no discernible reason.
Next was a member of Daft Punk.
Followed by Deadmau5.
And Beyonce.
Online bookmaker Paddy Power doubted music fans would essentially pay double the subscription cost of Spotify Premium to generate greater profits for artists..
However, Madonna leapt to the defence of the platform which came under heavy scrutiny.
Tidal is not about consumption and greed! Its about protecting an art-form that is beloved to all of us... https://t.co/XCyQjrcYZP — Madonna (@Madonna) March 31, 2015Everything will be explained and revealed in time! Have Faith! And remember nothing is for free! This is... https://t.co/Wlbl3DxMqf
— Madonna (@Madonna) March 31, 2015
Bad Girls of Tidal!! #Unapologeticbitches. ❤️ #rebelhearts pic.twitter.com/7BH0X4E73Z — Madonna (@Madonna) March 31, 2015Check out the full event below.