TIDAL Livestream Announcement - H 2015
The star-studded announcement of Jay Z‘s Tidal streaming service not only had music’s biggest names sharing a stage Monday, but also engaging digitally helping to personally curate Tidal’s content. With Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye West, Jack White, Arcade Fire, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Calvin Harris, Daft Punk, deadmau5, Jason Aldean, J. Cole and Madonna all on board as stakeholders, there’s at least plenty of talent to pull from.
Exploring Tidal’s offerings, here are eight notable things to check out:
1. Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money”
Rihanna’s new track was released last week, but it’s not available for streaming on Spotify or Beats. But guess what? Tidal’s got it.
2. The White Stripes’ exclusive first TV appearance
Long before Jack White was the the rock ‘n’ roll mogul he is today, he played in a little duo called The White Stripes. Tidal’s got their first-ever TV appearance, performing “Apple Blossom” and “Death Letter” on Detroit Public TV’s Backstage Pass show from 2000 — the sort of thing you probably wouldn’t even know to look for elsewhere.
3. Daft Punk’s Electroma film
Save a few bootleg YouTube streams, Daft Punk’s self-directed 2006 film about two robots on a quest to become human has not been available for free viewing online. Now Tidal’s got it, and with bonus footage and outtakes to boot.
4. Behind-the-scenes footage of Alicia Keys’ Set the World on Fire Tour at Madison Square Garden
Alicia Keys’ Set the World on Fire Tour lasted for three legs over 83 shows across the world in 2013, and even though that may seem like a long time ago, this nearly three-minute behind-the-scenes clip of Keys’ Madison Square Garden stop is enough to get you amped up. DMX and Method Man both make cameos in the Tidal-exclusive clip as well.
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5. Coldplay’s “Songs That Formed The Band” Playlist
Coldplay shares 10 songs that “have made a clear and meaningful contribution to their own stadium-filling sound,” as the Tidal description states. It starts with The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and ends with R.E.M.’s “Nightswimming.” On the way, it hits Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android,” U2’s “Bullet The Blue Sky” and TLC’s “Waterfalls.”
6. Playlists by Beyonce, Jack White, Jay Z, Jason Aldean and deadmau5
Coldplay isn’t the only one getting in on the mix-making here. Among the featured playlists, Beyonce shares her “festival favorites,” Aldean delivers his favorite party songs and White tells us what’s on the stereo over at Third Man HQ, as well as plenty more.
7. Videos
There is some but not a lot of exclusive video content on Tidal, with only 33 videos total listed in the video section right now. But the section’s placement on the Tidal website — immediately under the featured section and above the new albums — suggests curating video content will be a major focus for the service. (Notably, video content is fairly hidden on the mobile app.)
8. Taylor Swift’s music
Yes, Taylor Swift is on Tidal, which is a big deal since she’s been so outspoken against the market-leading Spotify and its artist compensation. But Swift’s newest blockbuster of an album, 1989, still is not on the service.
This story first appeared on Billboard.com.
