By: Bri Renee
For the first time ever, Tidal has revamped their payment tiers to include a free option. The rebrand was officially announced on Wednesday, November 17th via a tweet stated, "We’re working to create a place that is better for artists and their fans. Because we love music. And the artists who create it. And the fans who crave it. Today we’re sharing progress on some new stuff: TIDAL Free, $10 HiFi, Direct Artist Payouts, and Fan-Centered Royalties.”
Members can now create an account and listen to the full Tidal catalog with "limited interruptions" at no cost. They have also added two additional tiers, HiFi and HiFi Plus. Both of which include commercial-free and offline listening, as well as higher sound quality. HiFi Plus also offers direct to artist payments, where artists will receive a percentage of subscription fees for their listeners on this tier, replacing the current aggregated system. Tidal also uses Square, Cash App, and PayPal to payout artists, making it both a user and artist-centric app.