The basics
Your chosen industry: Music industry
Your chosen case study (i.e. text/institution etc.): Tidal
Have you received approval for this case study from your teacher? Yes
Audience
1) How has new and digital media changed the audience experience in your chosen industry?
TIDAL has a world class editorial team regularly delivering articles and interviews across all genres that deliver intimate and revealing looks into your favourite artists, as well as artists you may end up reading about for the very first time.
2) Has new and digital media changed the way the audience consume your chosen product?
TIDAL gives its members access to exclusive music, videos, tickets, merchandise. TIDAL has two pricing tiers: either $9.99 or $19.99 a month when you register at TIDAL.com. Both pricing levels come with the same access to exclusive content and experiences, and the $19.99 tier has the added benefit of high-fidelity sound, delivering the music users the way the artists and producers intended it to be heard. There is no compression of the files, and the music is CD-level quality. TIDAL provides a 30 day free trial period to all new customers on both subscription tiers.
3) Has the size of the audience changed as a result of new and digital media?
Spotify, a similar music streaming service has 10 million users. TIDAL has 1 million users and Apple music has 10 million.
4) What are the positive changes new and digital media have brought to the audience of your case study? (E.g. greater choice, easier access etc.)
Easier access compared to ten years ago when people would buy CD's. All music is one playlist and you can adapt that to remove/add songs/albums, which provides greater choice. Also playlists on TIDAL are tailor-made for our listeners, expertly curated by their team, and not by a computer algorithm. It also provides exclusive playlists created by artists, athletes, journalists which show what music they like and helps fans to stay updated by their favourite artists.
5) What are the negative changes new and digital media have had on your chosen audience? (E.g. quality of product etc.)
TIDAL in comparison to Spotify and Apple music is described as "the worst-sounding" when it comes to streaming top quality music. Also, artists who have a contract with TIDAL such as Rihanna and Kanye West have decided to release their albums exclusively just on TIDAL. Which forces fans to subscribe to TIDAL and this has frustrated many people as before it was easy to illegally download albums before release.
6) What about audience pleasures - have these changed as a result of new and digital media?
Audience pleasures have not completely been fulfilled as Spotify is the main competitor and the first established music streaming service which offers a cheaper price of subscription such as £9.99 a month and students receive discount so their subscription automatically goes down to £4.99 a month and this is a useful tactic considering that the main target market for music streaming is students. TIDAL provides audience pleasures to a short extent as users receive exclusive music first, such as Kanye's new album "The Life of Pablo" which was released on TIDAL first before any other platform. This creates excitement for users which links to Blumler and Katz which both entertains it's users and helps develop sense of identity as artists who release exclusive content could be seen as role models to users.
7) What is the target audience for your chosen case study? Write a demographic/psychographic profile.
As TIDAL is referred to as a "luxury hi-fi music streaming service" the demographic would be an ABC1 considering the fact that is is expensive compared t leading rival Spotify. The age group would be from 15 - 35 years - teenagers are the more focal part of the target audience as they would be more up-to-date with new music and interested in discovering new types of music as TIDAL includes all genres. Also, considering the fact that hip-hop mogul Jay-Z owns the company I would say that hip-hop fans in general would join and subscribe to TIDAL. In terms of psychographics this would relate to Aspirers - those who are materialistic and image orientated and believe that joining TIDAL would make them appear more well-off as it's a "luxury". Also, explorers who are searching for new types of music and this can successfully be acquired considering TIDAL has already have set playlists, for instance there are playlists for the 90's hip-hop era. This would help explorers find their individuality more and find new/different types of music to be interested in.
Institution
1) How has new and digital media had an impact on ownership or control in your chosen industry?
Tidal is currently owned by Jay Z, and a variety of other music artists spanning multiple genres within their field. It is the first artist-owned streaming service in the world. During the previously-mentioned press conference, Jay Z himself, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Daft Punk, Jack White, Madonna, Arcade Fire, Alicia Keys, Usher, Chris Martin, Calvin Harris, deadmau5, Jason Aldean and J. Cole were introduced to the stage as "The owners of TIDAL"
2) What impact has new and digital media had on ownership in your chosen case study?
A key selling point for Tidal in relation to competing with other streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora Radio is the exclusive content already available and expected for the future from the current artists who co-own the company, as well as others. Exclusive content available on the relaunch of Tidal included Rihanna's new single "Bitch Better Have My Money".
Artists will still record their music in the studio as normal, but the release is the factor to consider as Tidal are using artists to exclusively release music on their service.
4) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions distribute their product?Artists can decide to exclusively release content through Tidal, this encourages fans to buy the music streaming service for a monthly subscription fee.
5) How might new and digital media threaten your chosen industry?
There are many competitors such as Spotify and Apple music, Spotify charges a cheaper price but the only difference is that artists don't have an exclusive contract with Spotify to release music.
6) How has new and digital media changed the way your chosen industry is regulated?
The news and digital media has changed dramatically from people buying records in the stores, to illegally downloading mp3 music files off of Limewire and YouTube converter to streaming all types of music on one music stream.
UGC
1) What examples of user-generated content can you find in your case study?
There's no user-generated content, however artists who have contracts with Tidal upload their own desired playlists.
How has UGC changed things for audiences or institutions in your chosen case study?
More users have joined Tidal in order to see what music their favorite artists enjoy.
Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony
1) What would be a Marxist perspective of the impact of new and digital media on your chosen case study?
In terms of Marxism, the authority lies in the hands of Tidal as they have the power to remove any content when they want. Also, they can exclusively post music which disallows competitors such as Apple Music and Spotify to take it.
2) How would a pluralist view the impact of new and digital media in your chosen industry?
Tidal have created playlists which suit the users, for instance there are exclusive playlists for hip-hop fans and exclusive playlists for rock fans.
3) Are there any examples of hegemony in your chosen industry or case study?
In terms of the way the music is distributed Tidal have control as they distribute it whenever they feel to.
Globalisation
1) How has globalisation impacted on your chosen industry or case study?
In terms of digital revolution, users are streaming music from their mobile devices by the app instead of buying records.Also, cultural convergence, Tidal are providing all genres of music to target a wide audience.
2) In your opinion, has globalisation had a positive or negative impact on your chosen industry and case study? Why?
Globalisation has benefited positively due to the advances in technology which makes it quicker and easier to stream music.
3) Can you find examples of cultural imperialism in your case study or industry? (The 'Americanisation' of the world)
Tidal has hired artists which are 90% American based - such as Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Beyonce, J. Cole. Also it is owned by hip-hop ceo Jay-Z who grew up in Brooklyn.
Social media
1) How has your industry or case study used social media to promote its products?
There is a Twitter, Instagram and Facebook page. Also, when Tidal was first launched, many music artists put an aqua blue (to represent Tidal) as their Twitter header.
2) Provide examples of how your case study has used social media and explain the impact this would have on audiences.
By using the hashtag #Tidal many twitter users joined after exploring that hashtag and finding out what it's about and also which celebrities are affiliated with it.
3) Is social media an opportunity or a threat to your industry and case study?
It's an opportunity as it promotes it further and also makes it a more trending topic worldwide.
Statistics
1) What statistics can you find to illustrate the impact new and digital media has had on your industry or case study? For example, in news, the UK newspaper industry sold more than 12m copies a day in 2001 but in 2014 it was below 7m.
In 2015- Tidal had 580,000 paying users
Tidal currently operates in 31 countries.
In March 2016, Tidal announced it has over 3 million subscribers
2) Looking at these statistics, what impact has new/digital media had on institutions in your chosen industry?
By creating an app, rather than using an internet desktop to use Tidal this has encouraged many users to join as it's more efficient to use.
3) What has the impact been for audiences? These may be positive and negative.
It's easier to stream music wherever, whenever as it's cross-platform and is also available in many different languages.
Theories
1) What media theories can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media theories and explain how they are relevant to your case study. Note: these can be ANY of the theories we have learned over the whole of Year 12 and 13.
- Uses and gratifications - personal identity and entertainment: to help users find their favorite music and to use it as a source to escape from everyday life
- Hypodermic needle - media injects information, Tidal helps the audience to explore the values and beliefs of artists
- Two-step flow - users listen to what their favorite artists have to say and the types of music they like too
Issues/debates
1) What media issues and debates can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media issues/debates and explain how they are relevant to your case study.
Social - there are many competitors, such as Apple Music and Spotify which offer lower more reasonable prices
Historical - the change from buying records in shops to streaming music straight from a mobile device shows that the advances in technology are rapid
Economic - instead of paying for single records as in previous years, users now pay a complete monthly subscription with access to unlimited music.
Wider examples and secondary texts
1) What other texts or institutions are also relevant to your case study? What would be good secondary texts or examples to use to support the findings of your independent case study?
Similar texts involve competitors such as Apple Music, who charge a fee of £9.99 a month or a family sharing, where up to six users can use the same login for a fee of £16.99. Tidal and Spotify both offer a premium price of £9.99 for their service which are both very similar.
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