Tidal (stylized as
TIDAL, also known as
TIDALHiFi) is a
subscription-based
music streaming service that combines
lossless audio and high definition music videos with curated editorial. The service has over 35 million tracks and 85,000 music videos. Currently offering no free subscription plans, Tidal claims to pay the highest percentage of
royalties to
music artists and
songwriters within the music streaming market. Tidal offers two digital music streaming services: Tidal Premium (lossy quality) and Tidal HiFi (lossless CD quality - FLAC-based 16-Bit/44.1 kHz). Tidal was launched in 2014 by
Norwegian/
Swedish public company
Aspiro. It has distribution agreements with all of the
three major labels, in addition to many
indies. In the first quarter of 2015, the parent company Aspiro was acquired by Project Panther Ltd., which is owned by
Shawn "Jay Z" Carter.