Arcade Fire, Deadmau5 face backlash after supporting Jay Z's streaming service, Tidal
The Canadian Press | Posted: March 30, 2015 6:41 PM | Last Updated: March 30, 2015
U.S. rapper launched new high-fidelity streaming service in New York on Monday
Arcade Fire and Deadmau5 are among the artists publicly throwing their support behind Jay Z's new streaming service, Tidal — and both received decidedly mixed reactions from fans.
Jay Z, the 45-year-old rapper, record producer and entrepreneur who is married to pop superstar Beyoncé, is re-launching the high-fidelity audio service Monday. He reportedly paid $56-million US to Norwegian company Aspiro for Tidal earlier this month.
The service will cost members $9.99 US a month for standard quality sound, or $19.99 a month for "lossless high-fidelity sound," says the Tidal website.
Many high-profile artists have changed their social media profile images to a shade of turquoise and are posting in support of the premium streaming music service, including Canada's Arcade Fire.
Other artists who have voiced their support include Kanye West, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.
Canadian acts criticized
Late Sunday night, Deadmau5 tweeted: "Tides are about to turn."
The account of Montreal's Arcade Fire, meanwhile, sent out the message: "Together we can make music history. Show support and make your profile photo blue. Turn the tide."
Almost all of the responses to those posts were negative.
Several skeptical users said the wording of the Arcade Fire post would have been more appropriate for a charitable endeavour, not a for-profit tech enterprise.
Jay Z formally launched Tidal with a news conference in New York on Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
The rise of streaming services like Spotify and Apple's Beats has dealt a serious blow to CD sales and changed the way fans consume music. It has also created a power struggle between streaming services for the rights to the music of big name artists.
Jay Z appears to be banking on better sound quality and his relationships with superstars like Madonna, Taylor Swift and Daft Punk to draw more listeners to Tidal.