Skip to main content

Tidal and Apple face off as music streaming gets more crowded

difficulties between tidal and apple
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s a battle brewing between Apple and Tidal, and it looks like (no surprise) Apple is winning.

 First, Jay Z’s recently-acquired streaming music service, Tidal, fell out of the top 700 iPhone apps in Apple’s App Store. In a related allegation, Tidal claims Apple “deliberately took longer than usual to approve Tidal iOS app updates.” In addition, Tidal’s monthly subscription price for users who sign up through an iOS device is 30 percent higher “due to fees paid to Apple,” although, as The Verge reports, Apple users can pay the regular price if they simply sign up on Tidal’s website. Still, it seems tensions between the two are high, and they’re only likely to increase as Apple gets ready to roll out its own Beats-based music streaming service into the crowding music streaming marketplace this June.

Recommended Videos

For Apple users who aren’t savvy enough to sign up on the web, Tidal’s monthly subscription fee is $13/month for Tidal Premium (the standard audio quality version) and $26/month for Tidal HiFi (the lossless high-quality audio version). Tidal confirmed the price difference yesterday via Twitter, explaining that “the price for users subscribing to Tidal on iOS is higher than the usual price by about 30 percent.” The monthly subscription price remains at $10/$20 for those who signup on Android and Google Chrome (for Mac and PC).

In a follow-up interview with DigitalTrends, Tidal COO Vania Schlogel explained that the 30 percent increase in price for iOS users is to compensate for Apple’s distribution costs.

“We can not unilaterally mandate that. For example, if you go on the Apple App Store and download the app … not just Tidal but Spotify, Rdio, all streaming subscription players for the life of that subscription have to pay a 30 percent distribution fee for distributing it through Apple’s App Store.”

Tidal’s decision to place the distribution cost burden on iOS customers is a unique one in the streaming music sphere, though. Spotify, Rdio, Google Play Music, and similar streaming services all offer the same price points across operating systems. Furthermore, Tidal’s $10/20 price points remain for Android users, even though Google Play also has the same 30 percent distribution fee.

It’s difficult to believe that there isn’t a relationship between Tidal’s higher price on the platform and the streaming service’s struggles on the Apple App Store. At the same time, it’s also worth noting that Apple does have a history of making life difficult for competing apps on their App Store ecosystem. In 2009, for example, Apple kept the Google Voice app from being accepted for over 16 months according to BGR.

Whether or not Apple and Tidal are intentionally battling, the higher per-month subscription price will certainly hinder iOS users from subscribing to Tidal Premium or Tidal HiFi. And for Apple, whose Beats Music-based streaming service is looking to make a big splash in June, this is good news.

Chris Leo Palermino
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Leo Palermino is a music, tech, business, and culture journalist based between New York and Boston. He also contributes…
How much is Apple TV Plus?
Apple TV Plus home screen with Lessons in Chemistry.

It's been more than five years since the mighty Apple threw its hat in the video streaming service arena, and it's pretty safe to say that things are going pretty well. With its award-winning movies and series, Apple TV Plus has proven that it has a place on your streaming device among the Netflixes, Hulus, and Maxes of the world, with films like Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon and compelling original series like Severance, Dark Matter, Silo, and Slow Horses.

But one of the best things about Apple TV+ remains its relatively low price compared to more expensive options like Netflix and Hulu. Just how much is Apple TV+, and how can you save even more on your subscription cost? Read on to find out.
How much is Apple TV+?
Apple TV+costs $10 per month. You can also opt to pay $99 for an entire year of service, saving you 15%. However, customers who purchased an Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, or Mac can get themselves three months of Apple TV+ for free. So if you buy some new hardware now, you can use Apple TV+ at no charge. Plus, all new customers are entitled to a seven-day free trial to sample the lineup of movies and shows.

Read more
Apple AirPods Max finally get USB-C plus spatial audio for music
Apple AirPods Max with USB-C.

Apple's AirPods Max wireless noise-canceling headphones will ditch the lightning port in favor of USB-C. Apple announced the update to the headphones at the "It's Glowtime" event on September 9 along with the new iPhone 16. They still cost $549 and come in five new colors: midnight, blue, purple, orange, and starlight. They can be preordered starting September 9, and will be available on September 20.

The updated AirPods Max are effectively identical to the original model including the iconic aluminum-covered earcups and mesh headband, but now they can be charged via USB-C.

Read more
Tidal vs. Spotify: Which music streaming service has the features you need?
Tidal home page on iPhone.

If you in the midst of choosing which music streaming service is best for you, when comparing Spotify and Tidal, price is an important, but not the only, factor to consider. Spotify stands out with its flexible subscription options, offering individual, family, and student plans, each with its own unique benefits. In contrast, Tidal offers various subscription plans, too, but Tidal's calling card is that it includes premium and hi-fi options, with the hi-fi plan providing access to lossless, hi-res audio. Spotify does not offer this ... yet.

Spotify uses the Ogg Vorbis and AAC audio formats for streaming, delivering audio at varying bitrates. At the same time, Tidal's hi-fi subscription offers lossless, CD-quality audio and hi-res audio files in FLAC and HiRes FLAC formats.

Read more