Is Tidal too expensive?

[blownsi]

Perhaps I'm cheap but I just can't justify $20/mo for Tidal. Considering that it seems to have a smaller selection than Spotify which is free (with ads) or half the price. I'm curious what others think.

[wgscott]

Yes. Netflix is $7/mo. I think Spotify is too expensive for the amount I used it.

[jtwrace]

Yes, I just cancelled my subscription. A poll would have been perfect for this thread.

[kumakuma]

I also cancelled my subscription. I might have continued if I didn't already have over 70,000 songs in my collection already. So much music, so little time...

[Allan F]

I also cancelled my subscription. I might have continued if I didn't already have over 70,000 songs in my collection already. So much music, so little time...

 

That's the issue, isn't it. If you expect to be buying a lot of new music in the future, TIDAL is a great alternative to buying CDs or downloads. Unlike Spotify which only offers MP3, Tidal currently offers CD quality and intends to offer hi res streaming in the future.

[kumakuma]

That's the issue, isn't it. If you expect to be buying a lot of new music in the future, TIDAL is a great alternative to buying CDs or downloads. Unlike Spotify which only offers MP3, Tidal currently offers CD quality and intends to offer hi res streaming in the future.

 

The other issue for me is that I like to own things, even if it's just a download. Not really into renting my music.

[wgscott]

Get soundflower and Audacity and make a backup.

[kumakuma]

Get soundflower and Audacity and make a backup.

 

I still have a few songs "backed up" on my iPhone as offline content. I just need to make sure data and Wifi are off whenever I start the Tidal app as I'm sure they will disappear once the app is able to call home.

[Forehaven]

Count me in too as too spendy. I did like the service and quality, I just don't feel like paying $20/mos...times are tough.

[maelob]

I think i will pay the 20 dollars rather than pay hundreds each month in buying. i dont own the stuff but i dont care. i have only around 400 cds and most of them i dont even listen to. So 20 sounds good for me. But i think 10 dollars would be nice LOL

[oso]

[h=1]Spotify Reveals How Much, or How Little, It Pays Per Stream[/h][h=2]A stream pays out less than a penny, and how much goes to musicians and songwriters is unclear

[/h]

Can help but wonder why musicians and composers are getting such a bad deal:

Spotify Reveals How Much, or How Little, It Pays Per Stream | SPIN | Music News

[nick77]

Another vote for too pricey, Ill pass thank you!

[james45974]

the public is being pecked to death by sparrows, $10 subscription here and $20 there, everything from extra high tier cable TV, movie and music streaming services, computer software, websites, there has to be a saturation point somewhere, people will eventually stop

[jp11801]

absolutely not too expensive, yeah I'd rather it be 10 or 15 per month but $20 feels fair. I buy on average $100 plus a month of music. Of the CDs I buy 70-80% I probably listen to them once or twice. Tidal gives me great access to a much wider library that I own and I have 2 TB of AIFF plus another 1TB of FLAC. It will absolutely reduce cd clutter while giving me better access to more music.

 

So far I am a fan

[Jimmypowder]

I think the sweet spot is 15/month . Tidal is missing a lot of music .

 

More importantly , about 80 % of their library is lossless . I ran into several albums that sounded no better than Spotify .

[Jimmypowder]

the public is being pecked to death by sparrows, $10 subscription here and $20 there, everything from extra high tier cable TV, movie and music streaming services, computer software, websites, there has to be a saturation point somewhere, people will eventually stop

 

I agree with this . People are getting subscription fatigue . I know I am . I see an app with monthly sub , I avoid it . I'm not talking music services here . It seems everyone wants to be sub based . Why ? Cause they can sit back and do nothing and watch the money roll in .

[kumakuma]

Quick update. I have been listening to Tidal offline content on my phone for a few weeks after canceling my subscription. I got a message today saying the offline content had expired and I needed to login. Deleted the Tidal app and downloaded songs from my phone.

[MarkS]

I also think it is a bit too high, debut I like it so far.

[InfernoSTi]

I'm fine with the price now that I have it playing through an Auralic Aries. When I had it via JRiver on my CAPS it was too unwieldy to enjoy and while my iPhone was nice, I had to AirPlay it to my second system and never really enjoyed that much. The interface with the Aires looks and feels just like my music library.

 

Examples in my "favorites" albums that I would have purchased this month are: Avonmore by Bryan Ferry, Barragn by Blonde Redhead, Classics by She & Him, Stoked On You by The Aquadolls, Guitar in the Space Age by Bill Frisell, and Elliott Smith by Elliot Smith. That is five "new" albums and one "old" album. I'd put the value at that well above $60.

 

I just need to average two "new" albums, or four "used" albums, or a combo such as one "new" and two "used" albums) saved per month. I think we can track that pretty easily and I've got three months worth this month alone.

 

Factor the added value of the iPhone app for travel and it is a simple call. I'm getting my money's worth easily.

 

And I'm finding new music that I would never have found otherwise. The better your home interface, the more you value the service, at least for me. The iPhone is a bonus.

 

John

 

P.S. I've added Doolittle 25 (B-Sides, Peel Sessions, and Demos) released 11/30/14 to my favorites while I was typing this: another "new" album added in the first two weeks of the the month.

[IQ_AV]

I'm fine with the price now that I have it playing through an Auralic Aries. When I had it via JRiver on my CAPS it was too unwieldy to enjoy and while my iPhone was nice, I had to AirPlay it to my second system and never really enjoyed that much. The interface with the Aires looks and feels just like my music library.

 

Examples in my "favorites" albums that I would have purchased this month are: Avonmore by Bryan Ferry, Barragn by Blonde Redhead, Classics by She & Him, Stoked On You by The Aquadolls, Guitar in the Space Age by Bill Frisell, and Elliott Smith by Elliot Smith. That is five "new" albums and one "old" album. I'd put the value at that well above $60.

 

I just need to average two "new" albums, or four "used" albums, or a combo such as one "new" and two "used" albums) saved per month. I think we can track that pretty easily and I've got three months worth this month alone.

 

Factor the added value of the iPhone app for travel and it is a simple call. I'm getting my money's worth easily.

 

And I'm finding new music that I would never have found otherwise. The better your home interface, the more you value the service, at least for me. The iPhone is a bonus.

 

John

 

P.S. I've added Doolittle 25 (B-Sides, Peel Sessions, and Demos) released 11/30/14 to my favorites while I was typing this: another "new" album added in the first two weeks of the the month.

 

I do not have this service yet. $20 is high for me but I am becoming a fan of hi-res music and regretting the choice of ripping 200+ cds in MP3. I can see the argument of access to music that I would not have as well as have better access to the music that I had or have. Say for example, I just bought Steeltown, a Big country album from iTunes and the Tidal version sounds so much better. I am leaning towards subscribing it. I do have Amazon Prime and also use Google Music for cloud storage for music. So at this point, leaning towards shelling out $240/year for this service.

[wdw]

Yes

[bobbmd]

not too expensive

Qobuz is 19.99 EUROS/month

the sound quality soundstage separation especially when either TIDAL or Qubuz are played through Amarra sQ ver2.0 out to a DAC is extraordinary far better than pandora,spotify or beats music

but IMHO the bottom line is the Amarra sQ ver2.0 it also improves SIRIUS substantially especially celtic crush and idiots delight

I don't buy cd's or download hirez so I listen to my 800+ cd's on itunes/jriver but spend most of my time on one the 'lossless' streamers

[maelob]

The issue for me is that i am willing to pay 20 USD, but they need to fix all the bugs my god, really frustrating, too many dropouts with my macbook, and i am not the only one having issues with unreliable straming.

[new_media]

I still prefer to buy a lot of music and use Beats to preview albums. $10/month feels like the sweet spot for me to be able to preview albums I might buy or listen to the occasional track that I have no intention of buying. I attended a Halloween party and the host had a Sonos system, so I was able to build a Halloween playlist on the fly using people's suggestions at the party. Pretty cool.

 

I hope Apple doesn't kill the golden goose with whatever they are planning next year.

[Jimmypowder]

Tidal is too expensive if you spent most of this evening like I did listening to dropouts ,skips and pops

on the Mac desktop app or the web player . and that's with very strong internet speed

150/20 Mbps .

 

Until they fix this I will not be a long time subscriber

 

Also the download speed sometimes slows to a complete crawl .

 

There is a lot of work to be done with this service .