[PacoTaco]

  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.

 
Even if it was a couple cents, it would still be many times more than what spotify gives per listen. It's better for smaller bands, but for bands like Tool and Foo Fighters and artists like Taylor Swift and Ludacris, they lose a large amount of money they could have guaranteed by CD/iTunes sales that people would have otherwise bought as big fans.
 
It's like Steam. It gets a smaller guy's name out there, and could be considered just the cost of advertisement. But for a big company? They don't need that kind of thing, so some pull out of there to make more money off physical sales or their own platform. Steam, however, has enough sense to discount AAA publishers.

 

[elnero]

   
Even if it was a couple cents, it would still be many times more than what spotify gives per listen. It's better for smaller bands, but for bands like Tool and Foo Fighters and artists like Taylor Swift and Ludacris, they lose a large amount of money they could have guaranteed by CD/iTunes sales that people would have otherwise bought as big fans.
 
It's like Steam. It gets a smaller guy's name out there, and could be considered just the cost of advertisement. But for a big company? They don't need that kind of thing, so some pull out of there to make more money off physical sales or their own platform. Steam, however, has enough sense to discount AAA publishers.

I don't disagree that the amount streaming services like Spotify and Rdio are paying likely should be more, but honestly, I haven't looked into the economics of it too closely. Something to keep in mind though, the compensation Spotify and other streaming services are giving is per listen, per track. On the other hand an album sale is essentially endless listens to multiple tracks, so if the artist is getting a couple of cents per album, what is equatable compensation for a single listen to a single track? It seems to me that streaming services like this aren't that far removed from radio so I'd expect compensation to be in a similar range, albeit more for the streaming service. And with this type of compensation popular artists aren't paid more because they're popular, they get more because they're listened to more which is kind of what I was getting at with my previous post.

 

[Solarium]

Just signed up to see how FLAC compares to 320 kbps bitrate using my gear, and HOLY **** it's amazing. I am still on the fence though for one particular reason, that there is no standalone software like Spotify which means I can't control the playback using my keyboard's multimedia buttons during gaming. I'm really hoping that they'll make one soon.

 

[PacoTaco]

  Just signed up to see how FLAC compares to 320 kbps bitrate using my gear, and HOLY **** it's amazing. I am still on the fence though for one particular reason, that there is no standalone software like Spotify which means I can't control the playback using my keyboard's multimedia buttons during gaming. I'm really hoping that they'll make one soon.

 
There is. It was just pulled due to some issues with it a couple weeks back adn they haven't put it back up on the store yet. It works now, so I'm assuming they're redoing it.
 
Here's a google drive link to the installer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxOnPQHL8s90Y0dqRGEwdk1LMUE/view?usp=sharing

 

[Solarium]

   
There is. It was just pulled due to some issues with it a couple weeks back adn they haven't put it back up on the store yet. It works now, so I'm assuming they're redoing it.
 
Here's a google drive link to the installer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxOnPQHL8s90Y0dqRGEwdk1LMUE/view?usp=sharing

That's HUGE! Assuming the file linked isn't a virus, thank you!

 

[Solarium]

Wait it won't let me install, this is for PC right?

 

[PacoTaco]

  Wait it won't let me install, this is for PC right?

Yes, it should be. Let me try it myself real quick and make sure I put the installer on there and not the actual client.
 
Edit: The installer came up for me. What is it saying when you try using it?

 

[mikeofearth]

The windows app really isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It could definitely use more functionality for account management and other stuff, but it's not bad. I installed from the link you provided PacoTaco, so it worked for me, thanks!
 
I am loving the service, even more now since I know the contributions to artists will be better. Paco, you mentioned Tool... that's the one band I MISS from the library. They need to get a deal done to put their music up ASAP!

 

[PacoTaco]

  The windows app really isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It could definitely use more functionality for account management and other stuff, but it's not bad. I installed from the link you provided PacoTaco, so it worked for me, thanks!
 
I am loving the service, even more now since I know the contributions to artists will be better. Paco, you mentioned Tool... that's the one band I MISS from the library. They need to get a deal done to put their music up ASAP!

 
Tool is a weird situation. Maynard and his old band would have to agree on how the deal would go down. The only reason a new Tool album hasn't released is because Maynard is taking his sweet time recording his vocals. A Perfect Circle, being his band now, is easy to get the **** done for as he's more willing to work for that.
 
Edit: There's also the lawsuit they had, and yada yada yada. Apparently Maynard isn't writing as many of the lyrics right now, and they were also pushed back due to a serious illness of one of the band members. The new album will probably be released for streaming. I don't see the old ones working out though.

 

[barbes]

 
As for Rihanna's boobs, I am married to the most spectacular Women in the World and I hadn't even noticed 

....

That's going to get you in trouble too.

 

[elnero]

According to Spin Magazine, the reason Tool's albums are not available for streaming is "Maynard James Keenan’s band doesn’t have a unique reason for staying away from digital music – like many on this list, he doesn’t want his band’s work consumed in random pieces. Unlike most, though, Tool is truly committed. The band’s music isn’t on iTunes or Spotify and it has never allowed its label to split up its songs into a greatest-hits collection. Gotta respect those principles."

 

[greenkiwi]

  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.
 

 
Chuckle... I saw that... definitely wet t-shirt contest.

 

[ViperGeek]

  I'm not sure why Tidal pulled the Windows version, but here's a copy (subject to being asked to remove it):
 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7-P5ZiAmJmPdmRxbXBrWXdkdGs&authuser=0
 
MD5: 246c1d5a4c3516d9a7801dee25efaa10
SHA-1: 6865e424dbcaa8f8cca69e4f79842d63b02bb760
 
- Dave

 
VirusTotal scan: https://www.virustotal.com/en/url/2b6185454a64699662ab340ca1934087face2dcaed5c943b8d2f8116fe31e239/analysis/1428858510/
 
For those having trouble downloading the Windows version of the software, here's a link I posted a few pages back.
 
As others have said, I like the app because I can stream Tidal directly to my Grace m920 DAC and leave the Windows beeps 'n boops on my default Windows audio device.
 
- Dave

 

[Solarium]

  Yes, it should be. Let me try it myself real quick and make sure I put the installer on there and not the actual client.
 
Edit: The installer came up for me. What is it saying when you try using it?

Just tried it again and it worked, and I was able to use the media controls on my keyboard. Had some error message the first time. The GUI is kind of clunky compared to Spotify, but the sound quality makes up for it. I'm going to try it until the end of the month to make a decision. I wish it has more user-created playlists like in Spotify, but it'll just take awhile for more people to discover this streaming service.

 

[Tai1or Made]

Big shout out to greenkiwi for Mac player, thanks guy. It's not the prettiest program but I prefer it to the browser.

Thoroughly enjoying all this music. Most likely will pay for it at the end of the trial. I don't think I'll go full HIFI though (I personally can't hear a $10 a month difference).