Column: Tidal is a business, not a sea change

According to Kanye West, “this is, like, the beginning of the new world.”

On March 30, a smorgasbord of our favorite artists — including Beyonce, Madonna, Jack White and Kanye West — banded behind the Lord Sovereign Shawn “Jay Z” Carter to announce Tidal, an artist-backed streaming service.

An alternative to the cost-free Spotify, Tidal requires a paid subscription of either $10 or $20 a month for compressed and CD-quality audio, respectively.

Marketing itself as “the first music streaming service that combines the best High Fidelity sound quality, High Definition music videos and expertly Curated Editorial,” Tidal seems a hollow, buzzword-infested venture.

According to Jay Z, Tidal is “about music” with “no end game.” This from a man who pioneered mafioso rap through sentiments such as, “I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in hell/ I am a hustler baby, I’ll sell water to a well.”

I can’t deny my innate love for Jay Z. I nearly cried when I saw him live and have always found his voice and charisma undeniable. But I’m critical of capitalist ventures that leverage celebrity for the profit of already fat-pocketed individuals.

A friend of mine, UNC senior Jess Feldman, expressed her opposition to Tidal bluntly.

“I don’t care about making these rich people any richer,” she said,

In Tidal’s well-crafted introductory video, Jay comments, “We need to write the story for ourselves.”

The question of “who owns hip-hop” isn’t answered through figures like Jay Z, Dr. Dre or Diddy. Roc-A-Fella Records, the label Jay Z is signed to, is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Every cent Jay earns is a dollar for an industry executive.

Asserting ownership might be seen as a way for artists to reclaim their music, brand and message.

The #TIDALforALL marketing strategy is fraught with the rhetoric of revolution and artistic credibility.

But UNC senior Keegan Pace, who is in a class on hip-hop history with me, questions this approach.

“I think Tidal is revolutionary for the dozen or so artists who hold a stake in the company, but I’m not sure what it is doing for struggling artists or the customer,” he said.

Pace, who doesn’t currently use Spotify, won’t subscribe to Tidal, either.

“In a way, I think that Jay Z is taking advantage of the revolutionary climate of the country among hip-hop listeners following the racially-charged incidents involving police that have occurred in the last couple of years,” he said.

Either way, I doubt Tidal will revolutionize the music industry or even galvanize consumers and producers to question current modes of distribution.

We, artists, fans and executives, are all navigating a post-record store world in which accessibility and fair pricing don’t align.