Along with two Hi-Fi streaming options
There are plenty of music streaming services to pick between today, with Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music among them. Those aren’t the only options available, of course. Tidal was one of the first apps to popularize the idea of high-fidelity music streaming, and while it’s never reached the heights of its closest competitors, it’s still around today. If you’re after an alternative free tier to enjoy your favorite songs, you’ll be happy to know Tidal has thrown its hat into the ring.
The company has announced that its app now features free music streaming, in addition to its pre-existing monthly subscriptions, potentially making it available to a much larger audience. Spotify and YouTube Music currently offer free memberships to their users, but this move allows Tidal to join in on that competition.
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As you might expect, a handful of restrictions exist to push people to subscribe to a paid plan. On Tidal’s free tier, you’ll have to deal with “limited ad interruptions” — to be expected when you aren’t directly paying. You’ll also miss out on offline listening, and streaming quality is limited to 160 kbps, a bitrate that won’t hold a candle to Tidal’s Hi-Fi plans.
The company also announced its paid streaming tiers now exist in two options: Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi Plus. The former runs $9.99 per month, providing users with better music quality (up to 1,411 kbps), offline listening, and no ads. In other words, it’s pretty much your typical music streaming package, but with a higher bitrate.
Hi-Fi Plus, meanwhile, doubles the price to $19.99 while providing a couple of benefits over the cheaper plan. Music quality gets a bump up to an audiophile-friendly 9,216 kbps, perfect for those high-end speakers you’ve been eyeing for months. Even better, however, are the new “direct-to-artist” payments, as the company promises to distribute up to 10% of your subscription directly to the artists you listen to the most each month.
These new Tidal memberships are now available. The free tier is currently limited to members in the United States, but the company plans to expand it to other markets in the future.
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About The Author
Arol Wright
(276 Articles Published)
Arol is a tech journalist and contributor at Android Police. He has also worked as a news/feature writer at XDA-Developers and Pixel Spot. Currently a Pharmacy student, Arol has had a soft spot for everything tech-related since he was a child. When not writing, you’ll either find him nose-deep into his textbooks or playing video games. Reach him at [email protected].
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