Tidal Loses CEO

[bmoura]

41 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

if 33% of the company is worth 200 million ...

 

Might be time for Roon and MQA to consider a Tidal investment! 

[wgscott]

1 hour ago, bmoura said:

Tidal Loses CEO

 

I thought Tidal was supposed to be lossless.

[Sal1950]

I'll be fine with whatever comes across.

I'm on Spotify and hopefully they'll soon go lossless, but in the meantime I can continue to live with the 320 stream for sampling and then I purchase the music I really want.

Personally he-l will freeze over before I'd contribute ten cents to the likes of a criminal gangster like Jay Z and his crew.

[mrvco]

8 hours ago, crenca said:

 

No. However, this uneasy feeling I have about the viability of the company (based on it's well know woes) is not groundless I don't think...or is it?

 

I've always been uneasy about Tidal's prospects.  The fact that they've survived this long continues to surprise me.

[mrvco]

23 minutes ago, wgscott said:

 

I thought Tidal was supposed to be lossless.

 

QUIT IT, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME PEE 

[sdolezalek]

The real question nobody seems to be asking is whether Tidal's operating costs are much higher than those of Pandora or Spotify because a) their content requirements in terms of storage are higher and b) their bandwidth requirements are also higher.  Otherwise, unless there are much higher levels of piracy with Tidal than with the others, the cost/level of revenue per subscriber shouldn't be all that different.  Of course Spotify/Pandora have far more subscribers, but it doesn't really cost the studios any more to offer their material on multiple sites rather than just a few.  Less competition would also give Spotify/Pandora more bargaining power, so it isn't in the music ondustry's best interest to limit the number of streaming services. 

[firedog]

6 hours ago, james45974 said:

There is that audiophile conceit again of thinking that they are any kind of market or trend setters!

 

Dr. Seuss comes to mind and the audiophile community are a population of Whos, members of a minuscule community on a speck of dust!  All we have to do is make noises in greater amounts!  Everyone turn up the volume and open your windows!

That may be true, but also irrelevant.

The question for bean counters will be: is the segment a positive revenue generator/profit maker? The answer is highly likely to be yes. In the streaming universe, a community willing to subscribe at $20 a month is highly unusual and desireable.

[eternaloptimist]

9 hours ago, james45974 said:

There is that audiophile conceit again of thinking that they are any kind of market or trend setters!

 

Dr. Seuss comes to mind and the audiophile community are a population of Whos, members of a minuscule community on a speck of dust!  All we have to do is make noises in greater amounts!  Everyone turn up the volume and open your windows!

 

Upvote for the Whos analogy... priceless...!

[rickca]

6 hours ago, mrvco said:

 

I've always been uneasy about Tidal's prospects.  The fact that they've survived this long continues to surprise me.

There are very deep pockets and very large egos (Jay Z) backing TIDAL.  Now with the $200 million Sprint investment, it's going to have to get more business discipline.  Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure joined TIDAL's board as part of the acquisition.

 

Pandora just got a $150 million investment from KKR.  Richard Sarnoff, KKR's head of media & communications private equity investing in the Americas, will join its board.

[james45974]

1 hour ago, eternaloptimist said:

 

Upvote for the Whos analogy... priceless...!

At some level it was meant to vent a little frustration, not at the audiophile community, but at the population in general.  I wish there was more of an interest in quality music reproduction, and by extension equipment, in general.  I see what is happening in the video side of entertainment, HiDef saturated the market so quickly, taking over picture tube displays, 4K coming up now, and 8K in the future, even on your phone, and the audio world is still stuck on mp3 for general every day use for the larger population!  I want at least CD quality, if not higher, streaming to be successful which would be good for everyone! 

[james45974]

I wish Jay Leno was around to do his Jaywalking bit and ask people on the street who or what is Tidal.  I bet he would have an almost 100 percent failure rate.  Ask people who or what is Spotify or Pandora and there would be a better success rate.  Not to fault Tidal, but it takes money and time to develop brand familiarity, and potential success, not just access to higher quality streaming.

[rickca]

37 minutes ago, james45974 said:

I see what is happening in the video side of entertainment

The same thing is going on in video, really.  Most people watch horribly compressed HD from their cable TV provider or Netflix or HBO Now.  

 

When I rent a Blu-Ray from Redbox, it still asks me if I'm sure I want a Blu-Ray rather than a DVD.

[The Computer Audiophile]

8 hours ago, Sal1950 said:

Personally he-l will freeze over before I'd contribute ten cents to the likes of a criminal gangster like Jay Z and his crew.

 

Wow. Sean Carter is an incredible entrepreneur who came from literally nothing, to run very successful companies. 

 

To call him a criminal gangster, and "his crew" whatever that means, is ignorant. Please tell me who this crew is. 

[jtwrace]

24 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

Wow. Sean Carter is an incredible entrepreneur who came from literally nothing, to run very successful companies. 

 

To call him a criminal gangster, and "his crew" whatever that means, is ignorant. Please tell me who this crew is. 

His criminal past is well documented Chris.  

[james45974]

33 minutes ago, rickca said:

The same thing is going on in video, really.  Most people watch horribly compressed HD from their cable TV provider or Netflix or HBO Now.  

 

When I rent a Blu-Ray from Redbox, it still asks me if I'm sure I want a Blu-Ray rather than a DVD.

Thanks for that, I don't even have a TV hooked up at my house!  But they are watching that horribly compressed HD on screens with ever increasing resolution.

 

I don't know for sure, but I would bet that here in the US at least the predominate way of consuming music is through a smart phone.  No need to bother with high def music, who can tell the difference anyway!  And I understand that the most common vehicle for streaming is YouTube!

 

Even if Sprint's investment in Tidal gets the app and icon installed on all Sprint service branded phones that is still not very impressive.  I have a Samsung phone through ATT and the amount of bloatware is incredible!  To most people Tidal would be just another piece of bloatware on their phone.  You have to get over the hurdle of people just trying it out.  Then when they are hit with up to $19.95 month to stream music that has no real perceptible quality difference on a phone than what they can get for free the jig is up!

 

Statistics on the following chart from last fall

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, jtwrace said:

His criminal past is well documented Chris.  

 

Most certainly. When he was young he sold drugs. Big deal. That's long in the past. To call him and "his crew" criminal gangsters is ignorant. 

[jtwrace]

Just now, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

Most certainly. When he was young he sold drugs. Big deal. That's long in the past. To call him and "his crew" criminal gangsters is ignorant. 

And he did stab a producer which was reduced to a misdemeanor...

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, james45974 said:

Thanks for that, I don't even have a TV hooked up at my house!  But they are watching that horribly compressed HD on screens with ever increasing resolution.

 

I don't know for sure, but I would bet that here in the US at least the predominate way of consuming music is through a smart phone.  No need to bother with high def music, who can tell the difference anyway!  And I understand that the most common vehicle for streaming is YouTube!

 

Even if Sprint's investment in Tidal gets the app and icon installed on all Sprint service branded phones that is still not very impressive.  I have a Samsung phone through ATT and the amount of bloatware is incredible!  To most people Tidal would be just another piece of bloatware on their phone.  You have to get over the hurdle of people just trying it out.  Then when they are hit with up to $19.95 month to stream music that has no real perceptible quality difference on a phone than what they can get for free the jig is up!

 

Statistics on the following chart from last fall

 

I don't consider YouTube a music streaming service because its product is vastly different from the others. In all other areas we separate audio from video, except here. 

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, jtwrace said:

And he did stab a producer which was reduced to a misdemeanor...

 

He is an example of what we should revere. A checkered past, but pulled himself up by his bootstraps to found successful companies and pay more in taxes than we'll ever make in our lives. 

[james45974]

1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

I don't consider YouTube a music streaming service because its product is vastly different from the others. In all other areas we separate audio from video, except here. 

 

 

Chris, to borrow a phrase from the news media, get out of the audio echo chamber!  People stream music over YouTube, it is a competitor to all the audio streaming services! 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, james45974 said:

Chris, to borrow a phrase from the news media, get out of the audio echo chamber!  People stream music over YouTube, it is a competitor to all the audio streaming services! 

 

I'm well aware of this. However, the product is used in a vastly different way. If it was a real streaming service it would be embedded in cars like Pandora or Android Auto. Plus, please separate the music streaming from non music streaming on YouTube and show me the numbers. 

 

Think about the experience between YouTube and streaming services. It's vastly different. Try riding the train to work and using YouTube to listen to music. It's not as popular as a music service as people think. 

[james45974]

48 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

I'm well aware of this. However, the product is used in a vastly different way. If it was a real streaming service it would be embedded in cars like Pandora or Android Auto. Plus, please separate the music streaming from non music streaming on YouTube and show me the numbers. 

 

Think about the experience between YouTube and streaming services. It's vastly different. Try riding the train to work and using YouTube to listen to music. It's not as popular as a music service as people think. 

I guess I don't see the difference in use as relevant to the discussion.  The chart in my earlier post attempted to put a number to the number of "music consumers" using YouTube.  To minimize or compartmentalize the market effect of YouTube, or Vimeo for that matter, is like keeping an eye out your front door while your house is broken in at the back door!   

 

Anyway, there still hasn't been a real shakeout in the streaming industry yet, maybe these moves by Sprint, by extension Softbank, and Tidal will be the start of something.

[Sal1950]

2 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

Wow. Sean Carter is an incredible entrepreneur who came from literally nothing, to run very successful companies. 

 

To call him a criminal gangster, and "his crew" whatever that means, is ignorant. Please tell me who this crew is. 

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/09/19/jay-zs-past-includes-being-crack-dealer-stabbing-record-producer/

Ignorant? Do you know who he really is?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_(service)

"During the previously-mentioned press conference, Jay Z himself, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Daft Punk, Jack White, Madonna, Arcade Fire, Alicia Keys, Usher, Chris Martin, Calvin Harris, deadmau5, Jason Aldean and J. Cole were introduced to the stage as "the owners of TIDAL".

[mav52]

2 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

Wow. Sean Carter is an incredible entrepreneur who came from literally nothing, to run very successful companies. 

 

To call him a criminal gangster, and "his crew" whatever that means, is ignorant. Please tell me who this crew is. 

 

Yep I would say " sold more than 100 million records, while receiving 21 Grammy Awards " ain't half bad for a kid that didn't complete high school, got busted for selling drugs, shot his brother and was convicted for stabbing a record producer. Incredible

[The Computer Audiophile]

20 minutes ago, mav52 said:

 

Yep I would say " sold more than 100 million records, while receiving 21 Grammy Awards " ain't half bad for a kid that didn't complete high school, got busted for selling drugs, shot his brother and was convicted for stabbing a record producer. Incredible

 

Bingo.