The announcement of TIDAL Live was done ironically in the same day as Spotify announced that it was shutting down its Spotify Live audio streaming app. But apart from the Live nomenclature, the two concepts are very different. The Spotify Live app was a separate service that allowed users to stream and interact with live audio, including podcasts and music concerts. In fact, Spotify also announced the launch of a brand new in-app feature named DJ, a personalized AI guide to tailor premium subscriber experiences.
It might be coincidental (or not) that TIDAL Live was formerly beta tested as "DJ" through an early access program, but effectively Live is a new way for subscribers to spontaneously share music with others. The new feature makes it effortless for fans of a certain artist or music genres to also find and follow music tastemakers. When starting a Live session, TIDAL subscribers can choose the session name to set the tone for what they’re playing and share a link for others to join. Shareable links to Live sessions let anyone join - from text messages and social media, to emails.
To introduce Live, TIDAL promoted a series of Live sessions from DJs and music acts, with sessions happening across US, UK, Germany, Poland, and Brazil. In the future TIDAL expects that the social aspects of the feature will create an ecosystem of Live session experiences to share, while traveling, working out, or cooking dinner.
TIDAL subscribers can for now choose from specially curated sessions by TIDAL's genre experts throughout in the streaming app. "Live sessions will mark cultural moments, introduce rising artists to watch, and everyday activities where music is part of people's lives such as working out or cooking," the company states.
"Through music, we are giving fans a way to connect with each other or with other creators, brands, and personalities through simple, one-click sharing," says Agustina Sacerdote, Global Head of Product at TIDAL. "Using Live offers music fans a simple route to finding new music from other fans in-app or wherever a link is shared. We’re excited to see how Live is used to power moments through sharing music and bringing people together."
Live is available in-app on iOS and Android devices and TIDAL subscribers can select from over 100 million tracks available in-app. Tracks will play in normal AAC quality until high-resolution or lossless quality becomes available. Subscribers can only start and listen to sessions taking place in the country where their TIDAL account is registered.
Information on TIDAL’s Early Access Program to try new features requires sign up here: https://tidal.com/early-access
www.tidal.com
