Sorry you had to find out this way, but Jay Z’s new streaming service—you know, the one you told Jay you were really excited about, because you really appreciate the audiophile experience and can totally afford $19.99 a month, no problem? Turns out Jay really wasn’t listening when he turned around and walked away in the middle of your sentence. (Also, you were talking to the TV.)
Yeah, sorry, but Jay and Bey and the gang went ahead and launched TIDAL without you. They did so at an event in New York City earlier today that Variety describes as “star-studded” and that you were not invited to, so please stop saying your e-vite must have gone to spam. It’s making everyone really sad.
If you were there, you would have seen a coterie of famous musicians like Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, Beyonce, Calvin Harris, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Kanye West, Madonna, Jay Z, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Usher, Jason Aldean, Daft Punk, and Jack White, all of whom will serve as co-owners of the company, which purports to be the world’s first artist-owned streaming service. (Or a “global music and entertainment platform,” as Keys called it.) Speaking at the event, Keys said that she and her partners were confident that TIDAL will “forever change the course of music history.” Afterwards, they had champagne out on the terrace.
But don’t feel bad. The event was live-streamed and is currently playing on a loop on the TIDAL website, which is like being there, sort of. Also, you weren‘t the only one who was left out—The Haxan Cloak’s Bobby Krlic is already accusing Jay and his musical superfriends of ripping off his music for their launch video, ironic for a service with the stated goal “ to re-establish the value of music.”