Tidal is launching a free streaming tier and it won’t come with ads (yet)
Awatch Spotify, Tidal has announced a free level of service that will allow you to stream 80 million songs from the library without ads.
Tides, because they are properly named, will vary from HIFI and HIFI plus famous Tiers by offering significantly lower bitrates for audio streaming (160kbps vs 1411kbps on HIFI) and Tidal says it will disrupt users regularly to remind them of FI. The last bit can change later, but for now tidal say it won’t have an ad.
That is said, the free level will also lose niceties like lyrics or offline downloads. These features will be provided for the level of paid service.
Finally, according to Billboard, there will also be a difference in how the service pays the artist based on the streaming level they use. For example, if the user has a free level, the habit of listening they will not directly donate money directly to your favorite artists – they will be paid based on the number of collective listen. It is different from the new direct artist payment plan that comes to Tidal HiFi Plus that will send 10% of your monthly subscription fee to your most listening artist.
Analysis: Is this a big tidal effort to take Spotify?
Over the years, Tidal has distinguished itself from other audio streaming services with its commitment to CD quality audio – but the sales point since it was copied by Apple Music and, immediately, Spotify HiFi.
This new free level seems a clear way to attract new customers because other services continue to copy the strategic excellence of tidal.
However, it sounds like a better user experience – advertising is the worst part of the Spotify base subscription rate and now Apple has no free way to choose songs on Apple Music. Being able to choose which song you listen to without ads is the ideal scenario.