If Apple plans to offer artist exclusives as a way to encourage sign-ups to its rebranded Beats Music streaming service, it will be facing new competition. TechCrunch reports that Tidal, the high-definition music service being relaunched later today by new owner Jay Z, is set to announce some exclusive deals with big-name artists.
The artists named in the report have all been using the #tidalforall hashtag in recent tweets and Instagram posts …
Tidal’s plan of attack will be to ink first-window deals with the artists, where Tidal would get first releases of tracks from big-name artists ahead of any other digital streaming services.
Apple has run a number of exclusives on iTunes, from the Beatles to Beyoncé, and it seems likely it would seek to do the same with its streaming service. It has even been suggested that the company could become “the most powerful record label in the world.”
Apple is believed to be set to finally introduce its streaming music service at WWDC in June, possibly as part of iOS 8.4. We’re expecting to see it integrated into the standard iOS Music app, offering an Apple-branded version of the curated playlists, cloud-based libraries, and customized offerings that attracted users to Beats Music. Apple was reportedly hoping to hit a price point of $7.99/month after giving up on more ambitious plans of $5/month, something which now appears unlikely.
It was reported last week that Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor is taking a leading role in the revamp of the Music app after speaking about working with Apple on a “music project” last fall.
