Updated Tuesday, Sept. 15
Tidal, the music-streaming site set up by Jay-Z and myriad other recording artists, has taken a step backward in the music medium timeline — not to trendy and vintage vinyl records, but to CDs.
Previously, artists could only sell t-shirts and other merchandise in their online stores on Tidal. Now, though, they can sell physical copies of their releases. The UK Independent speculates that this may have been a concession to get Prince, who hates the Internet and all forms of digital music, to use the platform.
Tidal has not been the success Jay-Z likely envisioned it would be, as users have not abandoned Spotify and other services for it. Tidal’s “HiFi” streaming plan costs $19.99 per month, about twice as much as most competitors. Tidal also offers a plan with lower-quality audio for the market standard $9.99/month.