After scoring exclusive streaming rights to Kanye West’s new album, The Life of Pablo, Tidal has taken over the number one spot on the U.S. App Store.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/699089796690534401
The album, which went live yesterday, was originally supposed to be available for streaming on Tidal’s platform, as well as for purchase on Kanye’s website. However, yesterday Kanye tweeted that he was pulling the album from his own site, meaning Tidal would become the only place fans could listen to the album, at least until it hits iTunes in seven days.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/698972107166892032
West, who reportedly owns a small stake of Tidal through friend and Tidal owner Jay-Z, emphasized that “all music lovers” should subscribe to Tidal to hear his album.
The call to action seems to have worked, as it took less than 24 hours for the app to takeover the number one download spot on iTunes.
Of course while not all downloads will convert to subscriptions — Tidal is ranked the 30th top grossing app right now — many fans are presumably eager to hear Kanye’s new album, and are likely to at least provide a credit card and take advantage of the free trial that Tidal offers.
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So far, the streaming site has held up to the intense onslaught of traffic from Ye’s fans. However, last week was a different story, when millions of fans complained that Tidal’s live video stream of Kanye’s Season 3 fashion show / album debut was malfunctioning.
Seems that Kanye and Tidal need some Pied Piper compression…
Live stream immediately down.#YeezySeason3 #Tidal— Erol Tekkanat (@ErolTekkanat) February 11, 2016
Notably, West isn’t the only artist to release music exclusively on Tidal. Recent songs by both Rihanna and Beyoncé hit Tidal before any other streaming services.
While this is most likely due to the close relationship between these artists and Tidal owner, Jay-Z, Kanye also noted that Tidal is funding “a lot of his scripted content ideas,” meaning the exclusivity pact may be part of a larger deal between West and the streaming service.
Ultimately, if the streaming service can continue scoring sought-after exclusives like The Life of Pablo, it may just have a shot against an incumbent iTunes after all.
