|
Jay Z, his wife Beyonce, Prince, Usher, and Nicki Minaj will
headline the Oct. 20 concert in Brooklyn, with tickets going on
sale on Wednesday, firstly to Tidal subscribers. The concert
will also be streamed live for both subscribers and
non-subscribers via Tidal.com.
Tickets for the concert are priced between $74 and $244, and all
proceeds will go to the non-profit group New World Foundation,
which works with community organizations on issues including
civil rights, social justice, poverty and education. Viewers
watching online can also donate during the live stream.
Tidal launched in March offering only paid subscriptions,
billing itself as the first of its kind music streaming service
owned by artists, but it has struggled to compete against more
established rivals Spotify, Pandora, both of which offer free
streaming services supported by advertising, and Apple Music.
Rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z, who purchased Tidal from Swedish
company Aspiro for $54 million earlier this year, said in April
that the service, which is backed by top names like Madonna,
Rihanna and Chris Martin, had more than 770,000 subscribers.
In a celebratory Tweet on Tuesday on the eve of the concert
announcement, Jay Z wrote: " 'Nothing real can be threatened,
nothing unreal exists' Tidal is platinum. 1,000,000 people and
counting. Let's celebrate 10/20 Brooklyn."
Tidal has faced its detractors in the music industry, with
artists ranging from rapper 50 Cent to British rocker Noel
Gallagher. British folk band Mumford and Sons said independent
bands need support more than Tidal's already wealthy artists
trying to make more money.
Tidal has taken up some of those concerns and the October
concert will feature a number of artists from its programs to
promote new and rising talent in the music industry, according
to the event website. (http://tidal.com/us/tidalx1020)
Spotify, the music streaming leader, has more than 20 million
paid subscribers. Apple said in August it's streaming service,
launched June 30, had attracted more than 11 million members
during its free trial period.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Alan
Crosby)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
