Tidal is finally offering a free subscription tier with minimal interruptions

Music streaming service Tidal has announced a major shakeup in both its subscription services as well as its methods for paying artists. And for the first time, the platform has launched a completely free subscription tier, so you won’t have to pay anything to enjoy the service.

The announcement came earlier this week and included several changes to the company’s model. Now, there are three different subscription tiers that users can choose from, each offering its own benefits. First, there’s the free tier, which grants you access to Tidal’s entire library of around 80 million songs, albeit at standard sound quality and with limited interruptions from the company.

Then, there are two different high-fidelity paid subscription options to choose from. The HiFi subscription goes for $9.99 a month and gives you better sound quality with interruption-free listening.

But the biggest shift in subscription models, aside from the new free option, is the HiFi Plus option. HiFi Plus gets you the best sound quality and support for sound formats like Dolby Atmos Music and Sony 360 Audio Recordings. The HiFi Plus subscription will cost you $19.99 a month.

And this model is also where Tidal’s new artist payout methods lie. 10% of the subscription fee from HiFi Plus subscribers will go straight to the artist that person listens to the most in a given month.

Additionally, royalty payouts are calculated differently for streams from HiFi Plus subscribers. Instead of calculating based on overall streams, royalties paid from HiFi subscribers’ streams will be directly calculated based on the individual artists that the subscribers listen to.

Tidal has always positioned itself as a platform for artists, and these new features seem to continue that tradition. Not only will the new free subscription tier bring more users to the platform, but this new feature also adds a new way for listeners to directly support their favorite artists through direct-to-artist payments.

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