Block-owned music streaming service TIDAL is changing how it pays artists after an experimental program failed to produce results.
While Spotify and other market leaders pay musicians a small amount (part of …) per performance, TIDAL takes a more imaginative approach to paying artists. Targeting consumers seeking a higher quality audio experience, the platform introduced a new Direct Artist Payouts (DAP) program last year. For her HiFi Plus tier customers at $19.99/month, the most listened artist of an individual subscriber receives her 10% of the subscription fee.
As it turned out, the plan didn’t work. In April, TIDAL will terminate his DAP program.
“DAP programs focused only on listeners’ number one artists, leaving little room for budding artists to reap rewards,” writes TIDAL CEO Jesse Dorogusker. twitter thread today. He said 70,000 artists were enrolled in the program but paid only $500,000, “well below” TIDAL’s goal.
On behalf of DAP, TIDAL invests more money in the TIDAL Rising program to promote emerging musicians. Dorogusker said TIDAL will invest at least $5 million in the program.
TIDAL Rising supports select emerging artists by creating documentaries and other promotional materials to accelerate their careers. Alumni of this program include Alessia Cara, Chloe x Halle and 21 Savage. Dorogusker mentioned his recent TIDAL initiative. Georgiamade four local artists a platform.
For those interested in paying for more artist-friendly streaming, this news may come across as a little bittersweet. It may not have worked. Last year, TIDAL made up less than 2% of the global streaming music subscription market, compared to Spotify’s 31% and Apple Music’s 15%. As Dorogusker pointed out, the DAP model was also a bit counterintuitive. French music streaming his platform Deezer has proposed a switch to a user-centric payment system. It divides the user’s subscription fee proportionally among all the artists they listen to. However, streamers were unable to implement this as labels would have to agree to an experimental system.
