Tidal is adding the first original comedy series to its library.
The music streaming service launched by Jay Z has ordered No Small Talk, a standup comedy show hosted by DJ Cipha Sounds, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The first five episodes of the series will be available Nov. 3 on Tidal with additional new episodes releasing every Tuesday. Tidal is hoping to entice new customers by making the first episode available for free to non-subscribers.
The No Small Talk pickup comes less than two weeks after T.I. announced on stage at the TIDAL X: 1020 concert that the streaming service had ordered a second season of Money & Violence, a drama that filmmaker Moe Verneau originally distributed on YouTube.
New episodes of Money & Violence will debut in January and will have a week of exclusivity on Tidal. The complete first season of the show is also available on Tidal with exclusive commentary from the cast.
Tidal launched in March as an artist-friendly alternative to streaming services like Spotify, offering high definition music starting at $9.99 a month. It has since amassed a library 35 million songs and several thousand music videos. The company has faced some bumps since its launch, losing both a CEO and interim CEO in the matter of months.
Tidal placed a focus on exclusive videos at the start, offering music videos, short films and other videos to its subscribers. Tidal also made a free live stream available for its TIDAL X: 1020 festival, which featured performances by Jay Z, Nicki Minaj and more, and drew 3.3 million viewers.
