Quite some time ago, I talked about Jay Z and a handful of other celebrities co-owning a new music streaming company called Tidal, and how dedicated they were to helping artists regain their fair share. They’re not the only ones.
Apple is asking musicians like British indie band Florence and the Machine?to help them promote Beats Music. They’ve even approached Taylor Swift. They’re asking for some of their songs to be exclusive to Apple Beats. They believe if music is exclusive only to Apple Beats, it will force the customer to pay for what they can’t get for free. Today, you can get a lot of music for free because a lot of it’s backed by advertising. Apple Beats will be launched this summer. Like most of the others, a regular subscription will cost $9.99 a month. But a family plan is expected to cost $14.99. Let’s not forget: Apple bought Beats Electronics, a headphone and streaming company for $3 billion dollars. This deal made Beats Electronics CEO Dr. Dre the first billionaire in hip-hop history. But Jay Z is the lead owner of Tidal. Could we be looking at a potential hip-hop business rivalry here?
It’s hard who to give the edge to. Tidal has a lot of celebrity power backing it, like Beyonce, Madonna, and Alicia Keys. Sounds like Apple Beats has some major kissing up to do in Hollywood. But already Apple has a lower price for an extra pack; Tidal’s ‘family pack’ cost $19.99 a month. The name Apple alone is enough to wins customers over. It seems like most of what they’ve touched this century has turned to gold. But the real struggle for both Apple Beats and Tidal is not only each other, but how do they break music consumers’ addiction to free songs (I admit, I’m a such consumer)? It’s Apple Beats vs Tidal, and who will win?