TIDAL Fires 25 Staff Members, Including CEO

When Jay-Z's new streaming service TIDAL relaunched a few weeks ago with a lot of undue pomp and circumstance, you can be pretty sure that it didn't expect the backlash that ensued. Not only were music fans and potential users turned off by music's one percenters talking about making making more money piad subscribers, but fellow artists, producers and music execs, as well.

Guest Post by Bobby Owsinski on Music 3.0 Blog

It looks like all the hubbub has had some effect, as multiple reports have Tidal firing 25 staff members, including CEO Andy Chen. The company acknowledged that Chen is being replaced by former CEO Peter Tonstad, but the company categorized the other firings as "redundancies" and "streamlining."

In a statement posted by Business Insider, TIDAL explained the rehiring of Tonstad:

TIDAL’s new interum [sic] CEO is Peter Tonstad – a former CEO of parent company Aspiro Group. He has a better understanding of the industry and a clear vision for how the company is looking to change the status quo. He's streamlining resources to ensure talent is maximized to enhance the customer experience. We've eliminated a handful of positions and refocused our company-wide talent to address departments that need support and cut redundancies. TIDAL’s offices globally will remain and grow: we are already hiring for several new positions now. We're excited about our future and what's in-store for fans who want the best listening experience.

Although TIDAL enjoyed some enviable press coverage after its relaunch, the reviews generally haven't been kind, with many calling the catalog insufficient and others reported that the difference between the $19.95 per month high-definition audio tier and the standard quality tier generally indiscernible under most modern conditions.

Even the exclusive music and video content promised by the company's superstar shareholders proved to be short-lived, soon showing up on other streaming networks.

While the firings may or may not be related to the poor launch, TIDAL continues to stay in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Guest Post on 04/22/2015 in Music Business | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: 99 Problems, Alicia Keys, Apple Inc., Business Insider, Damon Dash, Jack White, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Spotify, Streaming media

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1 Comment

There is a big difference between being fired and laid off / let go. All articles are saying these people were fired, but I don’t see what the reasoning was, I’m sure Chen got a very nice package with his goodbye.

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