Tidal
In case you haven’t heard, there’s this thing called Tidal and it’s turning the music world on it’s head. Basically, Jay-Z and his associates (every other big name in music) have bought Tidal, a music streaming service that will charge $19.99 a month for super high quality streamed music. The goal of Tidal is to compete with streaming services that allow people to listen to music for free, services like Rdio, Rhapsody, and Spotify. Jay-Z and all of the other famous artists that have a stake in this deal will presumably no longer make their future music available on these services, forcing fans to either buy the music or listen to it via Tidal. Jay-Z and his associates have said that this new expensive service will make for a healthier music industry, but this whole thing just rubs me the wrong way. Why? Because I’m poor! I don’t have $19.99 to spend on myself, let alone throw at other people. That’s why Spotify is great – it’s free. The problem is that Spotify doesn’t exactly compensate artists well, which sucks for struggling artists who need the money to survive by their craft. What also sucks is having rich people telling you that you don’t pay them enough, which is kind of what Tidal sounds like to me. I’m all for paying musical artists their due, but hearing multi-billionaires preach about how they “need” my money is just irritating. It also doesn’t make me want to buy what they’re selling. All in all, my big question surrounding Tidal is this: is it money to make music, or music to make money?
Oh, and Tidal caused this glorious photo, too:
“Furious 7 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” – Various Artists
The 7,000th Fast and Furious movie hit theatres April 3 (in case you needed another pointless franchise to follow) and its soundtrack has risen to hold the number one spot on iTunes. “Furious 7 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” is comprised of 16 tracks by artists whose names sound like alien language. Popular names such as Iggy Azalea (a/k/a Igloo Australia), Wiz Kalifa, and Tyga appear on the film’s full-length soundtrack along with tracks such as “Turn Down For What” and “See You Again (ft. Charlie Puth)”. “Furious 7 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is now available for purchase on iTunes.
“Future Hearts” – All Time Low
Holding the number two spot on iTunes is a new album by the guys that got you through those sad, lonely middle school nights. One of the worlds favorite pop-punk bands, All Time Low, is back after three years with their album “Future Hearts”. “Future Hearts” contains 13 songs featuring Alex Gaskarth’s lovely voice and the awesome instrumentals of Jack, Zach, and Rian. Popular songs from the album include “Tidal Waves (ft. Mark Hoppus)”, “Something’s Gotta Give”, and “Kids in the Dark”. All of us formerly emo kids can access the piece of pop-punk perfection that is “Future Hearts” via Spotify and iTunes.
