News broke Friday that Tidal CEO Andy Chen, along with more than 25 staffers, is no longer with the company.
First reported by Swedish website Breakit and later picked up by VentureBeat and Digital Music News, Peter Tonstad is rumored to be stepping in as CEO for the time being.
In a statement sent to Breakit and translated by VentureBeat, the company says it “continues to ignite a global conversation; one that puts the artist and music love at the center of the experience. As the new interim CEO of TIDAL, Peter Tonstad is focused on the company’s industry-leading content quality and connection to the fans.”
Tonstad himself says “I believe in TIDAL and what the team is doing to the effect the change the music industry needs. We’re streamlining the company and refocusing our resources to ensure the platform continues to grow, and listeners can make a connection to their favorite artists. No one else is doing this.”
At the same time, however, there’s been some bad press for TIDAL, which went live on March 30. Many artists are speaking out in opposition to the platform, owned by Jay-Z, saying the royalties for musicians aren’t sufficient and that smaller label or independent artists aren’t well represented.
“We wouldn’t have joined it anyone, even if they had asked,” Marcus Mumford, lead singer of Mumford & Sons, told The Daily Beast. “I think smaller bands should get paid more for it, too… And when they say it’s artist-owned, it’s owned by those rich, wealthy artists.”
Ben Gibbard, singer of Death Cab for Cutie, also told The Daily Beast that artists have already lost failed by focusing on big name acts that, as Mumford also noted, don’t need the help getting paid. “I think they totally blew it up by bringing out a bunch of millionaires and billionaires and propping them up onstage and then having them all complain about not being paid… this thing is going to fail miserably.”
And that’s in addition to at least two “exclusive” offerings —videos from Beyonce and Rihanna— popping up on YouTube almost immediately after being posted on TIDAL.
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