Jay Z: "Tidal Music Service Is Doing Just Fine, Thank You!"

Jay-Z’s Tidal music service which received a lot of fanfare has been experiencing a wave of bad press ever since its March launch. Critics have predicted the failure of the subscription-only service, enumerated its problems and declared it already a flop based on its position in Apple’s App Store. Mumford & Sons and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard have been among the musicians to speak out against it. But Jay Z is standing by his service.

As part of a flurry of Twitter posts, Mr. Carter revealed that Tidal has “over 770,000” subscribers to date. He also scoffs at the idea that Tidal is solely about pampering wealthy artists who want a larger cut — the rapper argues that Tidal’s $60 million in equity value pales in comparison to the billions in musical net worth at rivals like iTunes and Spotify. Every artist on Tidal gets a 75 percent royalty rate, Jay Z says, not just those with a direct stake.

We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow & get better. #TidalFacts

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015

There are many big companies that are spending millions on a smear campaign. We are not anti-anyone, we are pro-artist & fan. #TidalFacts

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015