Jay Z to Perform Free Concert Only for Tidal Music Subscribers

Rapper and producer Jay Z is promoting his new artist-backed music streaming service Tidal with an exclusive concert. “Tidal X: Jay Z B-Sides” will be held May 13 in New York City. The only way people can get tickets is by submitting a playlist on Tidal. The artist plans to play songs that he has not performed in over 10 years. The concert announcement follows in the wake of Jay Z vehemently defending Tidal on Twitter after other musicians had criticized the service for being too elitist.

Tidal has certainly had a shaky launch, despite backing from prominent musicians such as Kanye West, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Deadmau5 and Usher. Some artists believe Tidal does not do enough for up-and coming musicians. Jay Z claims the service now has 770,000 subscribers, but the app isn’t doing well in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

Tidal_Music_Service

Apple may be trying to set back Tidal by discouraging artists from releasing exclusive content on the servcie and taking a long time to approve Tidal app updates. Jay Z’s tweets targeted Apple, Spotify and YouTube. According to Quartz, Jay Z is trying to “position the service as the artist-led underdog battling against giant corporations.”

The upcoming Jay Z concert will be available for people to stream on Tidal, reports The Wall Street Journal. Last week, the service streamed a Jack White performance.

Related:
Young Guru Is the Most Influential Man in Hip-Hop You’ve Never Heard Of, The Wall Street Journal, 4/30/15

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