Tidal attracts Prince fans with exclusive rights to new album
Musical artist Prince is releasing a new album exclusively on the streaming platform Tidal, helping to raise its profile as musicians become increasingly disgruntled with streaming services.
The Tidal and Prince partnership has been ongoing since the launch of the streaming service, but with the artist?s impending album release on the platform the collaboration is fortified, in an attempt to help protect musicians? rights. The album is hoping to attract Prince super-fans that will need to subscribe to the music-streaming channel to have access.
"Mobile is crucial for music streaming platforms because these platforms need cater to on-the-go audiences," said Carolina Garcia, Strategist at Fuzz Productions. "The only device that accompanies people while they commute, at work, during workouts, and throughout the day is their primary mobile device."
Mobile tidal wave
The new music service is focusing on higher music quality to compete with other streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify for subscriptions, and help protect music artist?s rights, that many musicians believe are being encroached on by these channels (see more).
Prince has removed all this music from competing services, and is now exclusively available on Tidal. This will be his first album released directly to the platform.
The musician has developed a cult-like following and manifests a large group of devoted fans.
The album Hitnrun was created especially to excite die-hard Prince fans, nicknamed The Purple Army. The artist and Tidal are hoping these fans will take to the streaming service for access to the new album, released this upcoming September.
Tidal also streamed the first hour of audio from Prince?s Rally 4 Peace concert in Baltimore, as well as matched funds for the effort via its online Web site, promoting a positive brand image. This is highly important as the newer service has had quote a lot of backlash due to high prices.
Streamlining the competition
The platform faces a long battle with more players coming to the streaming game often, including also newly launched Apple Music. Many artists, similar to Prince, have pulled their content from these services but whether or not it will be enough to encourage users to switch is still unknown.
Hitnrun is being heavily promoted and received positive reviews via publications such as The Guardian, Billboard and Rolling Stone, which is good for Tidal. The more positive press the album receives, the more likely consumers are likely to want it.
The growing influx of music streaming platforms on mobile is requiring marketers to develop long-term advertising strategies that take into account the economic value of each customer and engage in cross-partnerships with an organic feel (see more).
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer
"I would argue that music streaming platforms not only need a mobile presence, they should be mobile-first," Ms. Garcia said.
Final takeBrielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer