Tidal

Tidal is a Norwegian-American music streaming service founded in 2014 and majority-acquired by Square (now Block, Jack Dorsey's company) in 2021. Tidal positions itself as the premium audiophile alternative in music streaming, offering lossless audio quality and Hi-Res Audio (up to 24-bit/192kHz MQA and Sony 360 Reality Audio) that competitors cannot match at standard tiers. Tidal's catalog includes over 100 million tracks plus 650,000+ music videos, making it one of the largest video libraries in music streaming. Two tiers are offered: Tidal HiFi ($10.99/month, lossless FLAC) and Tidal HiFi Plus ($19.99/month, Hi-Res and Dolby Atmos). The service has long marketed artist-ownership roots and higher per-stream royalty rates, positioning itself as ethical for musicians. Jay-Z originally purchased Tidal in 2015 and assembled a celebrity shareholder group including Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Kanye West, though Block acquired majority stake in 2021. Tidal's subscriber base is smaller than Spotify or Apple Music (estimated 3–5 million), but it commands intense loyalty from audiophiles with high-end DACs and headphones for whom lossy streaming is unacceptable. The service is available on iOS, Android, desktop, and through hi-fi equipment integrations.