Alarming news about Tidal

[Massimo66]

Alarming news about Tidal...... https://www.soundguys.com/the-end-of-tidal-132265/
Young and old guys if this is the situation.... I imagine that qobuz is not much better off. If that were the case, even Roon would suffer.. and then what do we do with our beloved and very expensive streamers driven by Roon if tidal and perhaps qobuz pull in their oars... I personally would not continue with Roon just to manage my digital archive

 

[tony22]

Hmm, apparently according to this you can only stream Tidal’s Hi-Res FLAC content through studio headphones (whatever they are). Who knew?

 

[audiobomber]

Hmm, apparently according to this you can only stream Tidal’s Hi-Res FLAC content through studio headphones (whatever they are). Who knew?

But only if you have a suitable DAC.

How in hell do you do an article on Tidal, mentioning Apple Music, YouTube Music and Spotify, but not a word about Qobuz?

The MQA debacle had to have harmed Tidal. Of course there's nothing informative about that in this dilettante article.

 

[tony22]

How in hell do you do an article on Tidal, mentioning Apple Music, YouTube Music and Spotify, but not a word about Qobuz?

Almost like it was forgotten on purpose…

 

[Rt66indierock]

Alarming news about Tidal...... https://www.soundguys.com/the-end-of-tidal-132265/
Young and old guys if this is the situation.... I imagine that qobuz is not much better off. If that were the case, even Roon would suffer.. and then what do we do with our beloved and very expensive streamers driven by Roon if tidal and perhaps qobuz pull in their oars... I personally would not continue with Roon just to manage my digital archive

I’ve been spreading negative financial information about Tidal since 2016. I want Tidal out of the market because it can’t compete.

 

[Rt66indierock]

But only if you have a suitable DAC.

How in hell do you do an article on Tidal, mentioning Apple Music, YouTube Music and Spotify, but not a word about Qobuz?

The MQA debacle had to have harmed Tidal. Of course there's nothing informative about that in this dilettante article.

Easy they have no market share.

 

[Rt66indierock]

Hmm, apparently according to this you can only stream Tidal’s Hi-Res FLAC content through studio headphones (whatever they are). Who knew?

I checked their link and noted my headphones are listed as the best for traveling. I knew, I’m glad they are spreading the word.

 

[A-Line]

I only purchase physical media. The only streaming that I do is either off of YouTube or from the My Tuner app that I have on my cell phone.

I knew at some point those that did streaming as their primary source were going to have issues sooner or later. Hard drives can also be corrupted potentially causing a complete loss of all downloads.

 

[Rt66indierock]

I only purchase physical media. The only streaming that I do is either off of YouTube or from the My Tuner app that I have on my cell phone.

I knew at some point those that did streaming as their primary source were going to have issues sooner or later. Hard drives can also be corrupted potentially causing a complete loss of all downloads.

The current hard drive failure rate at Iron Mountain for archived music is 25%.

 

[A-Line]

The current hard drive failure rate at Iron Mountain for archived music is 25%.

I thought that Iron Mountain was for data/document disposal..

 

[Rt66indierock]

I thought that Iron Mountain was for data/document disposal..

Nope storage.

 

[A-Line]

Nope storage.

Thanks for the clarification.

I read a article about a week ago regarding audiophiles & streaming. I had long suspected archiving problems in the digital format. I'm mostly analog but now have a great appreciation of my CD's thanks to my new CDP and Bluetooth streamer for radio stuff.

 

[ssfas]

I only purchase physical media. The only streaming that I do is either off of YouTube or from the My Tuner app that I have on my cell phone.

I knew at some point those that did streaming as their primary source were going to have issues sooner or later. Hard drives can also be corrupted potentially causing a complete loss of all downloads.

Thank you for reporting from the 20th century. I’ve been with Qobuz since 2012. They had the good fortune to go bust at the very beginning when they had only a few thousand subscribers, learned some lessons and have grown their business very steadily based on modest estimates of subscription growth, rather than splashing money and assuming their subscriptions will multiply by 10.

Tidal, meanwhile, splashed money, went with MQA (disaster), at one point was sold to a mobile phone company on the premise that it offered an attractive add-on service, and entered into loads of other service arrangements with third-party manufacturers, most of which have fallen apart.

Qobuz’s slowly but surely approach focuses on forming relationships much closer to the potential user base, for example having a close relationship including sponsorship with Gramaphone Magazine and the only hi-fi show in the UK that anyone bothers to go to.

I have no doubt that lossless music streaming will continue as long as I’m walking and breathing. Spotify is launching a lossless service later this year, which may pose a threat.

P.s. have you not heard of backups?

 

[A-Line]

Thank you for reporting from the 20th century. I’ve been with Qobuz since 2012. They had the good fortune to go bust at the very beginning when they had only a few thousand subscribers, learned some lessons and have grown their business very steadily based on modest estimates of subscription growth, rather than splashing money and assuming their subscriptions will multiply by 10.

Tidal, meanwhile, splashed money, went with MQA (disaster), at one point was sold to a mobile phone company on the premise that it offered an attractive add-on service, and entered into loads of other service arrangements with third-party manufacturers, most of which have fallen apart.

Qobuz’s slowly but surely approach focuses on forming relationships much closer to the potential user base, for example having a close relationship including sponsorship with Gramaphone Magazine and the only hi-fi show in the UK that anyone bothers to go to.

I have no doubt that lossless music streaming will continue as long as I’m walking and breathing. Spotify is launching a lossless service later this year, which may pose a threat.

Well this is just one company. Companies open and close everyday. New companies will open with better solutions to existing problems.
So yes format will definitely be around in the long term. Issues come & go. Some percentage out there will fall victim to their entire music files being corrupted/deleted but I suspect most have prepared alternatives to handle the problem.

 

[J007B]

There is enough accumulated wealth on WBF to buy Tidal and Qobuz and merge the two. I'm in, who else?????

 

[audiobomber]

Easy they have no market share.

But the highest sound quality, and are a main competitor for Tidal.

Market share is not a determinant of viability. There are millions of successful entities with low or insignificant market share, and plenty of companies that failed, despite having a big share.

 

[Rt66indierock]

Thanks for the clarification.

I read a article about a week ago regarding audiophiles & streaming. I had long suspected archiving problems in the digital format. I'm mostly analog but now have a great appreciation of my CD's thanks to my new CDP and Bluetooth streamer for radio stuff.

Iron Mountain also stores analog tapes and their deterioration has been well documented.

 

[A-Line]

Iron Mountain also stores analog tapes and their deterioration has been well documented.

Yes, tape is like film and eventually it will deteriorate.
So far no issues with my current tapes.
LP records last the longest.

 

[Rt66indierock]

But the highest sound quality, and are a main competitor for Tidal.

Market share is not a determinant of viability. There are millions of successful entities with low or insignificant market share, and plenty of companies that failed, despite having a big share.

You missed my point. Tidal isn’t economically viable. Tidal needs constant investment to stay afloat and Block Inc says they not going to provide that investment.

I said this on Audio Asylum Critic’s Corner November 16, 2022, Dear Jim Austin.

Tidal doesn't have the revenue to be anything but a bit player in the streaming market. They recently posted their 2020 statements. Revenue was $192 million. The HiFi tiers are probably less than $40 million. With the HiFi tiers now split there aren't enough users to generate much revenue for MQA Ltd.

Tidal Music's Gross Profit averaged $10 million over the last five quarters, or 18%. Gross Profit averaged 29% from 2015 to 2020. This is significant margin erosion. Hardly the profitable operation you wrote about. The numbers reported by Block Inc. show revenue is flat when 2017 to 2020 growth averaged 17% a year.

Neither MQA Ltd nor Tidal Music can survive without outside investment.

 

[audiobomber]

You missed my point. Tidal isn’t economically viable

No, you missed my point. I haven't said anything about whether Tidal is viable. Initially I said Qobuz should have been mentioned in the article, then responded to you that Qobuz doesn't need a big market share to be a successful enterprise.