Hi-Fi music streaming is now 45% cheaper with new Tidal subscription.
TIDAL is a global artist-run music and entertainment platform that brings artists and fans closer together through unique original content and exclusive events. The streaming service is available in 54 countries and has a catalog of more than 100+million songs and 650,000 high-quality videos, as well as original video series, podcasts, thousands of curated playlists and the ability to discover artists through TIDAL Rising.
Streaming music in Hi-Fi quality up to 24-bit at 192kHz will soon be 45% cheaper than before with Tidal, just like MQA streaming or Dolby Atmos Music or Sony 360 Reality Audio surround sound streaming. This makes Tidal a much more interesting alternative to Apple Music and Spotify.
While Spotify’s long-promised HiFi option has yet to arrive, Apple Music already offers access to its entire catalog of more than 100 million songs at the regular subscription price of $10.99 per month, many of them in at least CD quality. disk, and some even in 24-bit 192 kHz format. Now Tidal is following suit and integrating the HiFi Plus plan, which previously cost $19.99, into the $10.99 HiFi plan.
From April 10, 2024 subscribers to the previous most expensive plan will pay 45% less than before, while all subscribers will be able to enjoy Tidal’s highest level of quality in 24-bit 192 kHz. FLAC, MQA in high definition, Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio are now also available with the regular subscription in addition to the usual 100+ million songs, 650,000+ music videos, expert playlists and complete ad-free experience. The “family” plan, which can be used by up to six people for $16.99 per month, and the student plan for $5.99 also provide access to Tidal’s highest quality.
This puts particular pressure on Tidal on Spotify, as the market leader still only streams highly compressed music at a maximum of 320 kbps instead of Tidal’s maximum of 9,216 kbps. Tidal, on the other hand, hopes to differentiate itself from Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited by better integrating with existing hi-fi products and expert-curated playlists. To make the transition easier, users can migrate their existing music library to Tidal through MusConv.
In short
Now is the time to subscribe to this lossless music streamer. For true music lovers, staying on Spotify is no longer recommended, both in terms of quality and price.
Key features of the FLAC file format:
- Lossless compression. Unlike lossy compression formats such as MP3 and AAC, FLAC preserves all of the original audio information.
- Open source: The source code is publicly available and can be used or modified by developers for free. There are no license fees for using FLAC. With MQA everything is different.
- Compression Ratio: FLAC can compress audio files by approximately 30 to 50 percent depending on the source material, resulting in smaller file sizes compared to uncompressed formats such as WAV or AIFF.
- Broad compatibility: Supports numerous hardware and software platforms, including smartphones, portable audio players and conventional computers running Windows, Apple and Linux.
- Streaming capabilities: Files can be streamed over the Internet, allowing users to enjoy high-quality audio. Data consumption is higher than using MP3, but lower compared to, for example, WAV and AIFF.
Read also: Is Tidal Still Better Than Apple Music?
