Jay Z’s Tidal music service has at least 699 problems.
Just days after the Brooklyn rapper called up users of his recently purchased music streaming service to thank them for listening, news from Boy Genius Report says that Tidal has fallen out of the top 700 apps downloaded in the iPhone App Store.
[Related: Jay Z Makes $56 Million Bid to Buy Music Streaming Company]
According to BGR, the app had briefly cracked the top 20 shortly after the service’s much-hyped relaunch, which included a press conference and appearances from top-tier musical acts such as Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris and more.But even more of a slap in the face to Jay Z and Tidal, rivals Pandora
and Spotify were the No. 3 and No. 4 top revenue-earning apps, respectively, according to E! Online, the first time both music services have simultaneously held spots within that charts top four.It’s the latest problem for the superstar’s supposedly game-changing streaming service, whose price tag comes in at $10 a month for Hi-Fi sound and $20 a month for CD-quality tunes. Earlier rumors suggested that some 25 employees had been cut due to “streamlining,†according to BGR, including the parent company Aspiro’s CEO, Andy Chen, who was said to be stepping down earlier this month.
BGR further offers thoughts on why going in on rivals, especially Spotify, might have been a mistake:
“This is the problem with attacking popular apps–negative media coverage often ends up just boosting them. Twitter rode a flurry of mocking or downright hostile news items to mainstream success. Snapchat leveraged sexual panic of U.S. media about naughty photos to becoming a teen obsession. You can’t badmouth a strong app into a decline. In the hyper-competitive app market, any media attention buoys apps with genuine consumer appeal.â€
The music industry and techies await Jay’s next step, and to see if Tidal will rebound against the hard-knock hits it’s taken since relaunch.