Jay Z Blames Tidal’s Reception On “Smear Campaign”, Announces Jack White Acoustic Live Stream

The Tidal debate continues to rage, with head honcho Jay Z taking to social media overnight to unleash a tweetstorm of #tidalfacts in defence of the embattled streaming service, claiming “many big companies” are running a “smear campaign” against the newly launched platform.

“Stream of consciousness coming in 5, 4, 3, 2…,” the rapper warned before launching into a 15-minute, 14-tweet defence of his streaming baby, which, since its megastar-studded launch last month, seems to have been floundering in the wake of staff cuts, the departure of its CEO, a significant drop in downloads, disapproval from some of Jay Z’s artist peers and all-out mockery from the internet at large.

But, like a protective mother bird, Jay Z has offered some stern words for the kids in the playground who’ve been picking on the fruits of his multimillionaire loins. Mr. Carter’s full Twitter rant reads as follows:

Tidal is doing just fine. We have over 770,000 subs. We have been in business less than one month. #TidalFacts

The iTunes Store wasn’t built in a day. It took Spotify 9 years to be successful … We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow and get better. #TidalFacts

There are many big companies that are spending millions on a smear campaign. We are not anti-anyone, we are pro-artist & fan. #TidalFacts

We made Tidal for fans. We have more than just music. We have video, exclusive concerts, tickets for events early, live sports!… ….Tidal is where artists can give their fans more without the middlemen. #TidalFacts

Indie artists who want to work directly w/ us keep 100% of their music. “If you don’t want the CEOs all in the videos” haa #tidalfacts

Tidal pays 75% royalty rate to ALL artists, writers and producers – not just the founding members on stage. Rich getting richer? Equity values… YouTube $390 billion. Apple $760 billion. Spotify $8 billion. Tidal $60 million. #TidalFacts

My cousin just moved to Nigeria to discover new talent. Tidal is a global company. We have Tidal X – it supports artists by giving them a platform to connect with their most loyal fans. Tidal is for all. #Tidalfacts

Our actions will speak louder than words. We made Tidal to bring people the best experiences… and to help artists give that to their fans over and over again… We are human (even Daft Punk ha). We aren’t perfect – but we are determined. #TidalFacts

Jay Z rounded out the tidal wave of tweets by announcing that Tidal colleague Jack White’s final acoustic concert, prior to his imminent live music hiatus, would be streamed exclusively on Tidal.

The gig, which is taking place in North Dakota, is set to commence at 8:30pm local time (11:30am AEST). You can apparently tune in via tidal.com.

Watch: Jay Z – Hard Knock Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_oDhY8JUws