2024-06-24: TIDAL finally removing MQA completely

[harkpabst]

Just received an email notification that Tidal will replace the remaining MQA content with FLAC as of 24th June 2024. A certain number of songs might not be available as FLAC, initially.

360 Reality Audio content will be removed with no immediate replacement.

https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/articles/25876825185425-Upcoming-Changes-to-Audio-Formats

 

[Brantome]

Thanks, just back home and saw that on the Roon group and was just about to post it

 

[Achim1811]

May be I should request an official license for a clairvoyant . The end comes nearer every day...

 

[harkpabst]

I cannot see how this move is hurting TIDAL. Quite the contrary.

 

[Achim1811]

It will, be sure. Such a cluster of mismanagement in Tidal over the years will ask finally consequences. The only question is how and when. My prediction is for how: silently and gaslighting, in Tidal Style. And for when: quick.

 

[harkpabst]

I'll hold that bet.

 

[Achim1811]

Lets say end of 2024. Either an evening in the Altstadt or in Bermuda Dreieck. Or elsewhere in between, the runner up pays the whole event?

 

[harkpabst]

I'm in.

 

[Achim1811]

Checked

 

[Achim1811]

Of course no one of us is near enough Tidal's board. But since years they are making one wrong decision after another. The biggest one was the fraudulent way they advertised MQA. May be there are bandwidth benefits, but this ridiculous "how intended by the artist", even when the artist was dead for long, was pure cheating of the customers.
I still deny that there is a human being who can error free say if listening CD quality or higher resolution or MQA. Nice to have it and it doesn't cost a Cent more, except this fraudulent advertised MQA bs.
Tidal is one of the many companies being on a drip from shareholders and they will come to the point those stop throwing away good money behind the bad. And till today they already burnt hell of a lot of money. Not their money!
And latest the decision by the Gang of Three to launch another streaming service was for me the beginning of the end for Tidal. But we'll have to wait and see.

 

[slartibartfast]

Of course no one of us is near enough Tidal's board. But since years they are making one wrong decision after another. The biggest one was the fraudulent way they advertised MQA. May be there are bandwidth benefits, but this ridiculous "how intended by the artist", even when the artist was dead for long, was pure cheating of the customers.
I still deny that there is a human being who can error free say if listening CD quality or higher resolution or MQA. Nice to have it and it doesn't cost a Cent more, except this fraudulent advertised MQA bs.
Tidal is one of the many companies being on a drip from shareholders and they will come to the point those stop throwing away good money behind the bad. And till today they already burnt hell of a lot of money. Not their money!
And latest the decision by the Gang of Three to launch another streaming service was for me the beginning of the end for Tidal. But we'll have to wait and see.

Do any streaming services make a profit?

 

[Achim1811]

The money question is the same with Qobuz. My issue is ALL about the behavior and communication from Tidal. Let them all go bankrupt, no issue for me personally. Streaming for these few Euros is in every way a steal.
May be some niche services will survive. But not for 10 to 20 Euro per month. All of the streamers only are the reason that the prices for physical music and concerts are becoming higher and higher, because from somewhat the artists have to earn their money.
At the end of the day the two Great A will survive and succeed. Because they do not really need the money. The rest is, to quote Darko, plankton.

 

[harkpabst]

Do any streaming services make a profit?

Not Spotify, that's for sure.

I still buy my records, even CDs (when on offer) but admittedly I started to use streaming services as well and that's fine in many cases. I can listen to EELS TIME! even before placing my order for the LP. And my disappointment is not quite as big if it turns out that the coloured vinyl is of low quality (since these records are produced for collectors, not for listeners).

So, all in all my life is probably better with Tidal not going out of business.

I think the marketing blah-blah like "as the artist intended" was introduced by MQA themselves.

 

[Achim1811]

Not Spotify, that's for sure.

I still buy my records, even CDs (when on offer) but admittedly I started to use streaming services as well and that's fine in many cases. I can listen to EELS TIME! even before placing my order for the LP. And my disappointment is not quite as big if it turns out that the coloured vinyl is of low quality (since these records are produced for collectors, not for listeners).

So, all in all my life is probably better with Tidal not going out of business.

I think the marketing blah-blah like "as the artist intended" was introduced by MQA themselves.

To bring that to an end, at least till the next press releases bring some new wind.
What you wrote is more or less the way I use the services of my choice. The possibility of having an early impressions saves money indeed. There are artists I buy blind, but not so much crap than before. Because doing so my conscience is clean . My predictions about Tidal's future? Call it educated guess. Only one thing is really to blame: