[greenkiwi]

Oh, I agree with all the problems of having it in a browser and don't really think it is a sustainable solution.  I was just suggesting that their old app was probably just their browser's flash app dropped into Air.  They need to create native apps for Mac and Windows.   

 

[ImperiousCaesar]

EDIT: Please ignore, it was a stupid question.

 

[y3sh]

I finally decided to drop my subscription. I just couldn't rationalize spending $20 a month for the subtle differences of lossless for the rare occasion that I'm listening that closely. I think I'll just by the CDs. When canceling, they gave a survey which I gave the normal rundown, but had a final question "any other comments?" I responded, "less of Rihanna's o-face and white t-shirt boobs all over the interface." I get the one-time appeal, but seriously I can't pull this up at work.
 

 

[tekprimehifi]

Seriously how hard can a UI be to program. There are plenty of great examples to copy.They have less budget allocated for design and functionality than the obamacare website.  I really really want this app to survive, but they're really not making it easy. You would think JayZ's purchase would of brought an influx of cash and new ideas.  Spotify could offer Lossless for an extra 5$ option for paying members and put Tidal out of business today.

 

[Billheiser]

  I finally decided to drop my subscription. I just couldn't rationalize spending $20 a month for the subtle differences of lossless for the rare occasion that I'm listening that closely. I think I'll just by the CDs.

OK.  But, just asking, do you plan to spend less than $20/month on CD's?
 
I'm on a trial period for Tidal and like it and am considering subscribing.  I generally buy CD's on top of listening to Spotify and vinyl & other sources.  Am thinking that Tidal might be paid for by savings from fewer cd purchases...

 

[y3sh]

  OK.  But, just asking, do you plan to spend less than $20/month on CD's?
 
I'm on a trial period for Tidal and like it and am considering subscribing.  I generally buy CD's on top of listening to Spotify and vinyl & other sources.  Am thinking that Tidal might be paid for by savings from fewer cd purchases...

 
It's a hard thing to track because I use subscription services differently than CD's. I explore tons of related content to discover new artists, but only listen through new songs a few times. I don't need tidal for this, as I can't think of any times where I decided to like a track after listening to it in lossless format rather than in 320kbps. So I'd rather pay half has much for Spotify premium in 320kbps and buy a CD retail 6 times a year for those albums I really want detail out of.

 

[PacoTaco]

  Seriously how hard can a UI be to program. There are plenty of great examples to copy.They have less budget allocated for design and functionality than the obamacare website.  I really really want this app to survive, but they're really not making it easy. You would think JayZ's purchase would of brought an influx of cash and new ideas.  Spotify could offer Lossless for an extra 5$ option for paying members and put Tidal out of business today.

 
Take this from a software engineer's perspective: It's a lot more difficult than you think. JayZ is focusing on locking down the content for the service, and they've probably had to cut back on people or have them focus on other things (like improving the desktop client that they still have pulled from the site. Oh crap, I forgot to put the installer on a googledrive thing for you guys, sorry. I was dealing with my son in the hospital that weekend and forgot. Will do tonight.) They have to avoid things like trademarks, patents, other services getting uppity for "borrowing" UI functions, and having to inject a recognizable style to the UI.
 
The UI is not near as bad as you guys make it out to be (but Spotify is better in that regard.) And Spotify wouldn't be able to do a lossless option, a chunk of its music isn't even 320 kb/s or streaming at that. They use a P2P method of streaming music, which means that lossless would make their entire platform lag unbelievably.

 

[y3sh]

 
... a chunk of its music isn't even 320 kb/s or streaming at that. They use a P2P method of streaming music, which means that lossless would make their entire platform lag unbelievably.

 
They stream in 320 for premium users and don't use P2P any more. Sources:

 
p2p program was shut down: http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/17/spotify-removes-peer-to-peer-technology-from-its-desktop-client/

 

[Wildcatsare1]

  OK.  But, just asking, do you plan to spend less than $20/month on CD's?
 
I'm on a trial period for Tidal and like it and am considering subscribing.  I generally buy CD's on top of listening to Spotify and vinyl & other sources.  Am thinking that Tidal might be paid for by savings from fewer cd purchases...

Bill, I absolutely love Tidal, sonics is very important to me, with my Alclair RSM's, Grados, HE560 a drop to lossy music is very clear. I have a huge library of albums and CDs and I look at Tidal as an expansion of that library, a great way to try new music, explore new genre, and compared to buying music like I used to, $20.00 a month is a bargain. Now I buy only what I think adds value in a unique way to the library.
 
Between the music threads on Head Fi and Tidal I am experiencing all sorts of music that is new to me. 
 
As for Rihanna's boobs, I am married to the most spectacular Women in the World and I hadn't even noticed 

......

 

[Billheiser]

   
It's a hard thing to track because I use subscription services differently than CD's. I explore tons of related content to discover new artists, but only listen through new songs a few times. I don't need tidal for this, as I can't think of any times where I decided to like a track after listening to it in lossless format rather than in 320kbps. So I'd rather pay half has much for Spotify premium in 320kbps and buy a CD retail 6 times a year for those albums I really want detail out of.

That's similar to how I use Spotify Premium and other online sources, but it still leads me to buy lots of CD's.  I have 25 more days or so to decide how Tidal fits in.  I sure do like the sound.
 
@Wildcatsare1, I also had not even noticed how magnificent and luscious Rihanna's boobs are.  Nor have I noticed her lush thighs, bedroom eyes or sensuous lips.  I'm only thinking about, um, headphones and stuff.

 

[PacoTaco]

   
They stream in 320 for premium users and don't use P2P any more. Sources:

 
p2p program was shut down: http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/17/spotify-removes-peer-to-peer-technology-from-its-desktop-client/

 
Yes. I know that. I'm saying not all the music they stream is in 320 kb/s, which implied I was talking about Premium. I may have been wrong about the P2P (which means they could do CD quality,) but Spotify does not stream that 320 kb/s a 100% of the time, nor have all their music at that level:
 
http://www.marcurselli.com/2014/03/03/the-truth-about-music-streaming-services-and-the-ultimate-audio-quality-shootout-test-beats-vs-mog-vs-play-music-by-google-vs-rdio-vs-spotify/
 
http://www.quora.com/Why-is-there-not-much-music-on-Spotify-available-at-320-kbps This one is old, so take it with a grain of salt.
 
http://www.quora.com/Is-Spotifys-320-kbps-streaming-false-advertising This guy posts a bunch of links, basically saying the same thing: They say they're doing it at ~320 kb/s, but it's not guaranteed. The Spotify website even said at one point, "Not all music streams at 320 kb/s." It's not false advertisement either, since they say it's an approximation.
 
If this was a couple months ago, Spotify would have clearer superior for the simple fact you could use plugins, 3rd party improvements, and stream your own music from now. Now though? They've closed all third party API off. Not to mention they pay a pathetic amount of money to their artists for each time their song is streamed (I believe it was between .006 and .0084 dollars per stream. Essentially, twenty-one million listens to their track would garner maybe $176,000. You could argue "but that's better than piracy!" But think of it this way, using Taylor Swift as an example: She pulled her music because of this exact reason. She only needs to sell 18,000 physical CDs to make more money than Spotify made her. You could argue "well, she isn't getting all that money back!" Well, she isn't getting it from Spotify either, as she still has to pay her record label and other things that lead to the Spotify sum being paltry money into her pocket.
 
Tidal costs so much because of two reasons: The servers needed to do lossless music is insane and they're a small company compared to Spotify AND they're paying their artists a lot more per stream than Spotify does. That second reason is the thing JayZ is pushing to get more artists on the service.

 

[Cornan]

Anyone that listen to a lot of music, own descent DAC/hifi equipment and have heard the Tidal/Wimp sound via computer, Asio Bridge (bit perfect), Jplay6 (KS) and Filelizer 6.6 will never change their mind. Magical sound stage combined with a hudge music liberary. A music lovers dream come true. Truly Outstanding!

 

[elnero]

  I finally decided to drop my subscription. I just couldn't rationalize spending $20 a month for the subtle differences of lossless for the rare occasion that I'm listening that closely...

That's funny because I've been debating which to service to keep, Rdio or Tidal and today I was listening to Tidal at work via my MacBook Pro straight to RHA MA750i's when it encountered a problem and started buffering (first time I've had this issue). I figured I was just listening in the background anyway so switched to Rdio but ended up switching back to Tidal because the difference was quite noticeable.
 

  Seriously how hard can a UI be to program. There are plenty of great examples to copy...

As a UX/UI Designer a can tell you, good UX/UI is not any easy task. It takes a lot of hard work mapping out and integrating all the interactions, then testing and reiterating until you get it right. A UI like Tidal has also has to deal with the fact that music is a very personal experience so every user wants to interact with it in a different way. Deciding on one path will inevitably piss someone off while making it flexible and customizable is an exponentially larger task.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

 
That's similar to how I use Spotify Premium and other online sources, but it still leads me to buy lots of CD's.  I have 25 more days or so to decide how Tidal fits in.  I sure do like the sound.
 
@Wildcatsare1, I also had not even noticed how magnificent and luscious Rihanna's boobs are.  Nor have I noticed her lush thighs, bedroom eyes or sensuous lips.  I'm only thinking about, um, headphones and stuff.

Yea Bill, my Wife didn't buy it either 

!

 

[elnero]

Originally Posted by PacoTaco /img/forum/go_quote.gif

...Not to mention they pay a pathetic amount of money to their artists for each time their song is streamed (I believe it was between .006 and .0084 dollars per stream. Essentially, twenty-one million listens to their track would garner maybe $176,000. You could argue "but that's better than piracy!" But think of it this way, using Taylor Swift as an example: She pulled her music because of this exact reason. She only needs to sell 18,000 physical CDs to make more money than Spotify made her. You could argue "well, she isn't getting all that money back!" Well, she isn't getting it from Spotify either, as she still has to pay her record label and other things that lead to the Spotify sum being paltry money into her pocket.

I'd wager the average recording artist isn't making near what Taylor Swift does per album. Years ago I had the averages broken down for me by someone from the CRTC for a class I was in, I don't remember the exact amount the average artists were actually making on a CD but if memory serves it was well under a dollar per CD.