Tidal Addresses the Backlash: 'There's So Much More to Do'
Roc Nation's chief investment officer and Tidal's chief industry liaison talks to Billboard about Alicia Keys' speech, artist royalties and the hard work ahead.
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Jay Z indicated that there were a group of founding investors -- can you confirm that it was 12 artists? Who was part of the second tier of four artists?
I won’t go into the details, but to us all the artists are important and they’re equally as committed to this. When it comes to the nature of their participation in the company, that’s someone else’s business.
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What will royalty rates look like?
Because there isn’t that free tier, the royalty payment on a per-stream basis will be multiples higher on a per-stream basis than services that offer music for free. That’s point number one. Point number two is artists that join -- when it comes down to it, technology is distribution, what they bring is the art. And without their art and their content, this distribution is meaningless. So it’s important for us fundamentally that artists participate in the equity of this company.
Number one, they’re gonna be paid multiples higher than on a per-stream basis. Number two, they're gonna be participating in the equity upfront, and that’s a real, core tenet.
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Some critics are already saying that yesterday’s announcement looked like a meeting of “music’s 1%,” that these were just superstars looking to make themselves richer. What would you say to that perception of Tidal?
I would almost say it’s the reverse of that. Ok, these are established artists who care enough about the sustainability of the industry, stepping out on a limb and doing this. Of course there are going to be people who are cynical. But look, at the end of the day, if any established artist goes out and gets an endorsement deal -- no one’s gonna criticize them for that because that’s how they make money. But if an established artist goes out and steps outside of the box and says, “I’m trying something different,” that invites criticism.
There is some bravery for what these artists are trying to do. Its not to fill their own pockets, it’s to create a sustainable industry.
By virtue of that definition, because that is our thesis, if we’re not treating music like a loss leader, then that’s good for indie artists, emerging artists, songwriters, producers. Music is a whole industry and it takes money. The reality is it takes money to create music. It doesn’t just happen for free.
We want to make sure music continues to be made, that songwriters are able to actually write songs rather than having to say, “I do a 9-to-5 in New York, and don’t have time to write songs. That doesn’t make it a sustainable industry.
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Among the exclusives available at launch on Tidal, you were able to secure Daft Punk’s obscure short film Electroma, which isn’t available on any other digital video service.
That just shows the belief that Daft Punk has in this movement that we’re doing. And, by the way, that’s such a great illustration. Artists of this caliber, they could go out and do a big licensing deal and have their content go out that way, rather than including it in a platform that is just starting up and is nascent.
This isn’t about the artists trying to make money, this is about the artists trying to say, “You know what? The world catalog of music is at your fingertips. Yes, that’s something that, if you really care about the music and the artists you support, then you’re gonna want to subscribe to this service or other services instead of pirating their music.” That kind of fundamental thinking is important to understand. 
No one is buying what their selling.
