Photograph: Jamie McCarthy

Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Usher, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Deadmau5, Kanye West, Jay Z, and J Cole at the Tidal launch last month in New York.

Is the tide changing for the TIDAL music monopoly?

This photo displays some of JayZ’s big name supporters of his TIDAL streaming service that he lauched not even amonth ago. March 30, 2015 was a monumental day for music makers and their fans. The Change the game artist attempted to do it his way.

Sean Carter’s Rocnation calloboration–founded in 2008– was one of the first of its kind where an independent record label attempted to attain more control over the development of its artists. The partnership with Livenation and distribution deal with Sony allowed the Rocnation to become a full-service entertainment company. The scope of their model includes: touring, management, distribution, merchandising, film, tv and more. In 2013, Rocnation expanded their scope to include their success Rocnation Sports, also. When their distibution deal expired with Sony, in 2013, they were able to establish a distribution deal with Universal Music. Prior to the public launch of TIDAL, Rocnation formed a management division–known as Three Six Zero Entertainment–that would manage talent from other areas of media and entertainment.

It appeared that their entrance into music streaming service was the logical next step for the Rocnation empire, despite the fact that many critics said that the service wouldn’t make it a year. Tidal leveraged their relationships with A-list celebrities and Rocnation’s tremendous catalog of multi-platinum selling grammy-award winning performers to create a media frenzy. Twitter feeds were filled with the #TidalforALL and thier tademark aqua-blue avatar all showing support for the newly minted music monopoly..for about 2 weeks…

Unfortunately, the tide may be turning for the Spotify and Pandora competitor. I respect the ambition, but many share the same concerned that I see echoed in many comment boxes: “what’s in it for us?”

“The first thing that stood out was their audacity; they do not have a free ad-version for those who cannot afford or are not willing to pay the $10 or $20 fee for the service…”

The first thing that stood out was their audacity; they do not have a free ad-version for those who cannot afford or are not willing to pay the $10 or $20 fee for the service. This model seems counter-intuitive to the zeitgeist of the music industry; with the continuing declining sales. They seem to have challenged a fundamental rule of economics; you must consider the substitute items. If they have comparable services like: Spotify and Pandora–who have a free service and do not charge nearly as much for their subscription service–how can they expect CHEAP consumers to want to pay for their product, unless they are giving them a hell of lot more? I would have offered a variation of both. I can understand that they were hoping that their exclusivity would be a strong enough Value Added Proposition, but it apparently is not. In the long-run, if this were the only location to get access to enough of the artists that fans love, it could work, but many might seek out a cheap substitute alternative. All artists would also need to do what Taylor Swift did and pull their entire catalog from their competitors. You cannot be half-way pregnant here. Until they have an exclusive product and a large enough audience that will make it worthwhile for these big name artists to commit to the TIDAL wave, it will be very difficult to make this model work. The question is: “how elastic is music, when you have an identical product that is FREE?”

How large will the market be for this service? We shall see. JayZ made a strategic move, by calling subscribers to calm any concerns that they might have about the future of the company. It was a great decision, considering the C.E.O. had announced that he was leaving and there were many employee lay-offs expected. This could be a good sign, if things aren’t working; it’s better to mitigate any additional damage and refocus their efforts. Even the artists who were initially onboard have changed their tune–no pun intended. Kanye West,  JayZ’s largest supporter and one of Time Magazine’s “100 greatest influencers” has seemed to withdraw his support of the service, by deleting any tweets pertaining to it.

In case you were in a comma and have not seen the launch; here you are. Despite the outcome, this will be a historic journey and case-study. I respect their commitment excellence.

The future of Tidal is uncertain, but I believe they have the right tools to build something amazing; they may just need a few new architects and a hell of a carpenter; Jesus, take the wheel. Perhaps, Tidal could reach out to the Limelight. That could be a good look. I’ll keep you posted. lol