Cyrus Langhorne
Less than a month after launching TIDAL, the company’s CEO Andy Chen has packed up his bags and left the aspiring streaming service.
According to reports, a replacement for Chen has already been announced.
Reports of departures at Tidal began yesterday on Swedish news site Breakit. It claimed that around 25 employees were given notice by the company and “forced to leave.” Now, Tidal has confirmed that CEO Andy Chen is leaving the company, and will be replaced by its former CEO, Peter Tonstad. However, a Tidal representative dismissed reports that 25 staff were leaving the company as “incorrect,” instead categorising the departures as “redundancies” and “streamlining.” (Business Insider)
TIDAL has also issued a statement on Chen’s unexpected exit.
“TIDAL’s new interum [sic] CEO is Peter Tonstad – a former CEO of parent company Aspiro Group. He has a better understanding of the industry and a clear vision for how the company is looking to change the status quo. He’s streamlining resources to ensure talent is maximized to enhance the customer experience. We’ve eliminated a handful of positions and refocused our company-wide talent to address departments that need support and cut redundancies. TIDAL’s offices globally will remain and grow: we are already hirinig for several new positions now. We’re excited about our future and what’s in-store for fans who want the best listening experience.” (Statement)
According to reports, Apple, Inc. has reached out to various music entertainers including country star Taylor Swift about a potential exclusive partnership amid rap star Jay Z‘s TIDAL launch.
Apple Inc has approached more than a dozen musicians, including British band Florence and the Machine, in an effort to sign exclusive deals for some of their music to be streamed on Beats, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The company is in talks with Florence and the Machine to give Apple limited streaming rights to a track from their album set to be released in June, Bloomberg said. (Huffington Post)
Recently, ex-Roc Nation artist Wale gave his take on Jay’s new streaming service.
“Music is in a weird place right now because you got the streaming, iTunes, Spotify and now Jay Z has Tidal — We’re not gonna know the significance of the place we’re in right now for like the next 10 years when we look back on it.” (“Larry King Now”)
Out wit the old,in wit the new!