Problems at Tidal Music
Posted by: Kendrick on 23 June 2015
News today that the interim CEO of Tidal just left the company...after serving only two months! With the sale of the company, a poor kickoff campaign, a departing key executive, too few customers, financial losses, and now Apple streaming, my guess is that Tidal may not be around much longer.
Coincidently, I cancelled my subscription last week but accept no blame for Tidal's problems! Tidal was great for most music but challenging with classical. Thankfully, I just discovered the Naxos "Classics Online HD" streaming service for CD and HD quality streams. Their website is very well designed, easy to use, and most importantly, music (60,000 albums) sounds great. You can trial for one week (no cc required), and cost is $15 per month if you sign up. Highly recommended for classical music lovers. BTW, I'm really surprised to see so little discussion here and other audio websites about Classics Online.
I'll check it out. BTW, check your email. Still having major UnitiServe issues.
M
He was an interim CEO wasn't he? 
The streaming model seems to be challenging as a lot of them are in some way struggling. I have never tried Tidal, I am with Qobuz and I am also aware about this Classics Online Hd - with even HD streaming, interesting concept but I can't understand how I would take benefit of that one.
Might give Naim one less thing to bring to their eagerly awaiting streaming owners ... Maybe if Qobuz goes the same way , they will be back on a level playing field with Linn.
News today that the interim CEO of Tidal just left the company...after serving only two months! With the sale of the company, a poor kickoff campaign, a departing key executive, too few customers, financial losses, and now Apple streaming, my guess is that Tidal may not be around much longer.
Coincidently, I cancelled my subscription last week but accept no blame for Tidal's problems! Tidal was great for most music but challenging with classical. Thankfully, I just discovered the Naxos "Classics Online HD" streaming service for CD and HD quality streams. Their website is very well designed, easy to use, and most importantly, music (60,000 albums) sounds great. You can trial for one week (no cc required), and cost is $15 per month if you sign up. Highly recommended for classical music lovers. BTW, I'm really surprised to see so little discussion here and other audio websites about Classics Online.
Absolutely useless for lovers of other than classical music... Doubt if Naim will integrate it considering the delay in the current streaming services and the newish BBC 320kbs service..
The catastrophe that is Tidal PR has not helped it for sure, but I increasingly think that lossless streaming, while it sits at £20 per month, appeals only to a niche enthusiast market. In terms of a general attack on more established services, I can see no reason why anyone content with 320k at £10 per month would switch to an equivalent service with either Tidal or Qobuz. Same problem for Apple in my view; what does it really bring that's new?
My preference is Qobuz by far, I am really well catered for by their catalogue, much better than with Tidal. While the number of albums on offer may be nearly identical, even in a recent re-trial with Tidal, I found notable absences. i also prefer the Qobuz brand and the way they communicate with customers; they really like to talk about music.
Yeah I agree I like the Qobuz brand. For me there is something Naim like with it.. Probably related to their passionate enthusiasm for all things music and being somewhat niche .. rather than being French...
Unfortunately not available in my country :-(
Not in my country either. 
Not in my country either.
It's the labels' wet dream. Pay per play. And we haven't yet got onto the pulling of titles by Tidal for undisclosed reasons (reported on Computer Audiophile) , but probably due to rights/licences lapsing, resulting in some users paying for something it turns out they can't play.
Fine if you never want to own anything. So long as it doesn't become the de facto model. Happily I have a big collection and if I never bought another album I'd still be well served, if disappointed.
$15 per month!!! £180 per annum; for one record company's output of CDs which cost £6 each? Do the maths; it would only be worthwhile if you bought more than 30 of their discs. They must think we're mugs!!
I assume that the comment above refers to the Naxos service. It has actally has recordings from the following lables as well as Naxos:
We get Naxos free (at standard quality) through our public library service and it is really useful for checking out performances and works. However the big downside is that it is not gapless and for some works that is a major issue and certainly prevents me from having a paid for subscription and the higher quality.
raised eyebrow
I stand corrected on the list of labels, though one or two are somewhat esoteric
The substantive point, more eloquently put by Harry remains however
PS how long did it take to prepare that list!
About 30 secs - I copied it from the NML site and pasted as plain text.
Some of the labels may be esoteric but that is one of the benefits of the NML - you can explore music that is off the beaten track.
BN
Thank you Bertie for the clarification. So $15 = one new album purchase, a nice lunch, or access to 60,000 classical albums for one month. Not a hard choice to make. 
Thank you Bertie for the clarification. So $15 = one new album purchase, a nice lunch, or access to 60,000 classical albums for one month. Not a hard choice to make.
Being an open minded sort of chap I've had a look at HD Classics.
Now follows stupid question. I can see how to install their apps for PC Tablet etc but this presumably means that to listen to this, I have to download to and operate through the PC and play that back through my Unitiqute. is that right?
If so, it negates the point as my laptop in the same room is a bit of a hissy beast with the fan going all the time. So, I'll have come from hifi LPs in the 1970s to "perfect" hifi now but with built in hiss. I think I'm going round in circles!
I do the math another way. If Tidal streaming means I stop spending £400 a year on CD's I'm £160 better off.
No I don't have the music forever, but I have many CD's I've spent £15 on, where the first enthusiasm has worn off and I haven't played them for years and won't play them for years to come. They are (and always have been) mostly unsaleable and are only ever going to the skip when they finally leave my possesision.
Conversely, streaming means I have rediscovered music I had on vinyl years ago or for one reason or another never got round to buying and is now hard to find or expensive on CD.
Thing is, clearing my late father-in-laws house the last couple of months has taught me something about possessions. Your treasured possessions will most likely count for very little to anyone else and the price you pay for them is really just rent paid in advance.
Olly
It's been said before, but the problem.with streaming services is that they are far too difficult to store offline. I want to be able to fill my portable player with a bunch of FLAC's. I want to be able to fill a USB stick for playing in the car. I want to be able to create random playlists from my music and not from some semi-complete collection.
They say there's no such thing a bad publicity and this is clearly true. Every article I've read about apple's new steaming service mentions Tidal at some point, either implying them to be a key rival, or making a point of differentiation. Despite most of the press being quite negative toward Tidal over the last couple of months, unreasonably so in some cases, the buzz from the press is all around Spotify, Tidal, and newcomer Apple right now. Very rarely is there a mention of any other services, so maybe, despite the dire launch provoking bad press, at least it got the attention from the press, in abundance. In the end, it will probably be a blessing.
Also, I notice that Prince has 'ditched all streaming services....except Tidal' as of Thursday this week according to the Guardian. Had a look on Spotify and sure enough everything is gone, and a note explaining why. Strangely everything Prince still streams in full fat on Qobuz this morning. Is this an act of non-compliance, or are Qobuz too small fry to worry about?
AC/DC on the other hand appear to have released all of their work for streaming in general. Can't say that it's generally my thing, but have to admit I really enjoyed playing some of the well known tracks the other day, it was a good laugh, And that's the beauty of streaming. I have never spent money on an ACDC album, because in the moment when parting with the cash, there would always be something else that seemed more deserving of such outlay. Yes, I know, tight as ducks.......
HD Classics. ... I can see how to install their apps for PC Tablet etc but this presumably means that to listen to this, I have to download to and operate through the PC and play that back through my Unitiqute. is that right?
Hi JHS -
This is where a new Apple Airport Express would come in handy as discussed in another thread: you would download the HD Classics app to you iPad, use it to select and play music, but choose AirPlay to the Express rather than local play through the iPad speakers. Then, with a mini TOSLink to mini TOSLink cable, you connect the Express to an appropriate input on your Qute (which you can assign to a button on the Naim remote - I use Aux - and assign a name in the Naim App - I use AirPlay...not a lot of imagination here!) and voila, online streaming now comes through your system. It may not be as high quality as other native sources, as ChrisSU points out, but it is quite good and the functionality is tremendous especially on the original Qute, which isn't able to enjoy all the upgrades included in the new firmware (like Spotify connect).
I know you're not thrilled with the idea of yet another monthly fee...but I have found that for the coSt of one CD a month, I am doing a lot of exploring. This started as a way into classical, in conjunction with Gramophone magazine (which actually cost more here than a month of Spotify, hahaha), but has grown to include discovery of things old and new that I either haven't heard for a while or haven't heard at all. The really amazing thing to me is that I haven't bought a CD since Xmas (although a lot of other "real life" factors, especially moving house, are also involved in that).
My recommendation is obvious: jump for the Airport Express to improve your Qute network connection, add the TOSLink to improve your source flexibility, and give any online service a whirl to see if it's a hit or a miss for you in your own situation. I hope you have fun no matter which you choose!
Regards, alan
HD Classics. ... I can see how to install their apps for PC Tablet etc but this presumably means that to listen to this, I have to download to and operate through the PC and play that back through my Unitiqute. is that right?
Hi JHS -
This is where a new Apple Airport Express would come in handy as discussed in another thread: you would download the HD Classics app to you iPad, use it to select and play music, but choose AirPlay to the Express rather than local play through the iPad speakers. Then, with a mini TOSLink to mini TOSLink cable, you connect the Express to an appropriate input on your Qute (which you can assign to a button on the Naim remote - I use Aux - and assign a name in the Naim App - I use AirPlay...not a lot of imagination here!) and voila, online streaming now comes through your system. It may not be as high quality as other native sources, as ChrisSU points out, but it is quite good and the functionality is tremendous especially on the original Qute, which isn't able to enjoy all the upgrades included in the new firmware (like Spotify connect).
I know you're not thrilled with the idea of yet another monthly fee...but I have found that for the coSt of one CD a month, I am doing a lot of exploring. This started as a way into classical, in conjunction with Gramophone magazine (which actually cost more here than a month of Spotify, hahaha), but has grown to include discovery of things old and new that I either haven't heard for a while or haven't heard at all. The really amazing thing to me is that I haven't bought a CD since Xmas (although a lot of other "real life" factors, especially moving house, are also involved in that).
My recommendation is obvious: jump for the Airport Express to improve your Qute network connection, add the TOSLink to improve your source flexibility, and give any online service a whirl to see if it's a hit or a miss for you in your own situation. I hope you have fun no matter which you choose!
Regards, alan
To add on to what alan has said. If you add a w4S Remedy reclocker to the Airport Express it'll really improve the sound quality.