While there are many artists involved in the newly re-launched streaming service, TIDAL, Jay Z remains the company's main representative. The rapper visited NYU yesterday to give a Q&A on the goals of the company, in which he spoke of the exclusive content the service will offer, his view that thing should be as "transparent" as possible, and the worth of a musician's passion.
The most interesting part of the talk came when Jay confirmed that if a major label artist were to complete their contract, they could potentially distribute their music exclusively through TIDAL. Hov confirmed this with the simple declaration, "I'm on Tidal. I don't have a record deal."
Check out some excerpts from the sit-down below. Read the full transcript over at FADER.
On Kanye's passion and its worth:
There was a time when I walked into a mastering session and we'd finally gotten Kanye to get on a plane, because he was at the end of his album, and there were 70 mixes of "Stronger" and "Good Life." Seventy. So imagine a person goes through 70 mixes just to get something right, the way they believe is right, in their mind, and you just put into a compressed file and you just send it out. Some people really care about, and are really passionate about their music and want it to be heard the way it was intended. It's not for everybody, and we're not trying to force it on you but if that's what you like and that's what you really care about, then you have the option. And that's what Tidal is saying.
On working with labels:
Well, we can't exclude the major labels because they have contracts with the artists. But if you don't have a contract as an independent artist, then you can do whatever you want and we would love to work with you... I'm on Tidal. I don't have a record deal.
On reasons to switch from Spotify:
At some point they'll be faced with that decision. Again — there will be other things. This isn't just about music; it's also about concert ticketing. It's a holistic place where the artists will live in. You may be able to download a song for free, but you're not getting into concerts for free. There are different things that we offer. It's not just songs — we're offering value.
On "transparency" within the company:
Our whole thing is transparency — I think there does need to be transparency. If you went to Bordeaux or something, to look at wine, you'd probably think, "Oh, this is some bougie shit." But if you went and you saw the craftsmanship, the work that went behind it, and someone's gotta be picking the grapes, and the whole thing — if you saw the process of what it takes to make an album, maybe you'd have a great appreciation for it as well.