Jay-Z\u2019s upstart Tidal streaming service has enjoyed a surge of interest after the rap mogul released his latest album exclusively on the platform.<\/p>\n
Tidal \u2014 which Jay-Z acquired in 2015 but trails far behind streaming leader Spotify as well as Apple Music \u2014 has seen a jump in downloads coinciding with the release of Jay-Z\u2019s \u201c4:44\u201d album on Friday.<\/p>\n
Tidal on Friday and Saturday was the most downloaded app for iPhones in the United States, jumping 163 places from Thursday, according to tracking service App Annie.<\/p>\n
It stood at number six on Monday, behind app stalwarts such as Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201c4:44,\u201d the first album in four years by the rapper who has devoted much of his energy to his business empire, came out to favorable reviews and a major buzz online over his unusually introspective lyricism.<\/p>\n
On the album, he apologizes to his wife, pop superstar Beyonce, for infidelity and reveals that his mother is a lesbian who struggled in the closet.<\/p>\n
Jay-Z chose to release \u201c4:44\u201d exclusively on Tidal, with the album promoted by telecom provider Sprint, which recently bought a one-third stake in the platform amid the rapid growth of streaming worldwide.<\/p>\n
Jay-Z has not revealed whether the album will remain a Tidal exclusive. Other stars including Beyonce who released their albums through Tidal eventually made them available for download on Apple\u2019s iTunes or on rival streaming platforms.<\/p>\n
Tidal, a Norwegian company, said last year that it had three million subscribers, although a media report questioned the figure.<\/p>\n
It is a fraction of the 50 million paying subscribers of Sweden-based Spotify, which said last month that an additional 90 million people used its free tier.<\/p>\n
The exclusive arrangement has brought uncanny moments. When Jay-Z\u2019s album was released, social media was abuzz with loaded lyrics which he supposedly made against fellow rapper Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian.<\/p>\n
The lyrics turned out to be the musical equivalent of fake news \u2014 with Jay-Z taking West to task but more lightly. Some social media users acknowledged they could not access the album to verify for themselves.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jay-Z\u2019s upstart Tidal streaming service has enjoyed a surge of interest after the rap mogul released his latest album exclusively on the platform. Tidal \u2014 which Jay-Z acquired in 2015 but trails far behind streaming leader Spotify as well as Apple Music \u2014 has seen a jump in downloads coinciding with the release of Jay-Z\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[403,137],"tags":[623,2231,8919],"yoast_head":"\n