Streaming music platforms like Tidal, Spotify, and Resonate have changed how we listen to music. But with so many options, how do you decide which is right for you?
Table of Contents
Tidal
Earlier this year, Square acquired a majority stake in Tidal, a digital music streaming platform. The acquisition is part of Square’s mission to create authentic digital connections with artists and consumers. In addition, the company has disclosed that it generated $166 million in subscription revenue in 2019.
Tidal is a music service that artists make for artists. It focuses on audio quality and provides subscribers with ad-free hi-fi sound quality and a vast music catalog. In addition, it offers music videos, live concert recordings, podcasts, and more.
Tidal’s artist-centric business structure pays artists more than Spotify for each stream. It also offers a free 30-day trial for new subscribers.
Tidal is available on smartphones, computers, and Apple TVs. It also has an add-on for Kodi.
TIDAL has a vast library of music, videos, and exclusive content. In addition, the service has partnerships with 100 labels and supports artists with direct access to their audience.
The company also offers a HiFi Plus membership tier. In addition, it provides subscribers with a more profound listening experience with innovative audio formats and Dolby Atmos. TIDAL also offers 10% royalty payments to artists every month.
Spotify
Whether you are in the music business or not, the music streaming platform of the future, Spotify, is a hot topic these days. Not only has it become the world’s largest music service, but it has also managed to blaze a trail of its own. This means the company can provide valuable insights to artists and other music professionals, which will help them make critical decisions about their tour, promotion, or recording career.
Spotify’s total monthly active users (MAUs) have grown by 19% compared to the year before. It also boosted its premium subscriber base by 15%, which is a feat. The company expects to add 600,000 more disconnects in April.
Despite the growth, Spotify has yet to hit its subscriber targets. The company aims to have a market share of at least 40% in the U.S., with an estimated 1.7 billion users in 2021.
The company has managed to diversify into other areas of the music industry. It now focuses on higher-margin direct licensing of unsigned artists, podcasting, and monetizing user data. In addition, the company’s executive team is putting in the hard yards to ensure that each listener’s experience is frictionless.
Resonate
Resonate, a music streaming platform built on a novel “stream to own” model, is among the latest entrants to the streaming service game. Resonate has a unique design and innovative technology and addresses an age-old problem: paying for ad-free music.
The music streaming industry is in a state of flux. The digital marketplace is transforming, making it increasingly difficult for smaller artists to make a decent wage.
To illustrate the change, Resonate has launched a new upload tool for artists to add new shareable playlists to their catalogs. Resonate is also partnering with Mycelia, an artist identity platform.
Resonate’s relaunch also includes a redesign of its music player. In addition, it’s more interactive than its predecessor. The company has also gotten a $1m investment from blockchain coop R-Chain.
For those who prefer a more traditional listening experience, Resonate also offers a subscription service. The service charges the average person about the same as the competition but offers ad-free listening. The company also makes a point of distributing a third of its income to artists.
It’s not hard to see why the Resonate music streaming platform has a head start on the competition. In addition to a novel “stream to own” model, Resonate also uses a unique technology to improve payment transparency. The company uses a payment gateway powered by Stripe and pays artists in fiat currency.
Traditional Music Promotion
Streaming platforms have revolutionized the way music is listened to, and this has also created opportunities for musicians to reach new audiences. However, marketing music on streaming platforms is more complex than it used to be. You’ll need a strategy to help you get new fans and to build relationships with them. You’ll also need the right tools to help you spread your content.
The first step in music promotion on streaming platforms is to open a YouTube channel. You can earn revenue from YouTube ads, which allow you to target specific musical tastes. You can also charge subscribers to receive exclusive content.
Spotify is another platform with many opportunities for artists to promote their tracks. Spotify offers algorithm recommendations, and you can submit playlists for placement. Spotify Canvas can also help you create visuals for your album. You can also charge your fans to listen to your music and build a community of fans.
Social media is also a great way to reach new fans. For example, Facebook has a monthly active user base of over 2 billion people. You can post videos and live streams to build a community of fans. You can also send direct messages to create a tight-knit fan base.