Jay-Z took to Twitter on Sunday to defend his music streaming service Tidal, addressing weeks of criticism that Tidal won’t last long in an oversaturated market. Meanwhile, Israeli make-your-own-website company Wix.com is hoping to change the game for artists in the very same market.
The top contender in the music streaming services market is Spotify, with over 15 million paying subscribers. Tidal’s numbers lag far behind at over 770,000 subscribers, Jay-Z revealed on Sunday, but it has only been a month since the company’s launch.
The Israeli company’s new vertical WixMusic was launched at the end of March, just a day after Tidal debuted in a star-studded event. WixMusic has received a lot less hype, but unlike Tidal, it promises to help artists make their own websites where they can sell their own albums and stream their songs through an embedded WixMusic player on their site. Artists would be free to determine their own pricing and Wix takes no commission.
WixMusic’s aim, like Tidal, is to help musicians plagued by declining CD sales and meager royalties from other streaming services, such as Spotify. Tidal offers a 75 percent royalty rate to artists and promises to find new talent in addition to the big stars it already showcases.
