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Jay Z recruits A-list artists for new Tidal venture

Written by . Published: March 31 2015

Jay Z recruited a star-studded line up of musicians, including his wife Beyonce, Kanye West and Alicia Keys, to help him relaunch Tidal, the first-ever artist owned music streaming service, in New York on Monday (30Mar15).


The hip-hop mogul recently purchased the platform from a Swedish company for $56 million , and as part of the relaunch, he enlisted the help of his famous friends to pledge their commitment to providing a high quality music program for fans.


The celebrities joined the likes of Usher, Madonna, Daft Punk, Jason Aldean, Win Butler and Alicia Keys onstage at the James Farley Post Office event, while DJ Calvin Harris and Coldplay's Chris Martin watched on from satellite hook-ups.


They all gathered to sign ownership of the new high-fidelity music streaming service.


Excited Keys hit the mic and declared, "Wow, this is incredible. This is so powerful."


Calling the signing event "the beginning of a whole new era", Keys went on to discuss the owners' vision for Tidal, saying, "We come together with one voice in unity in the hopes that today will be a moment that will forever change the course of music history... Our goal is simple - to create a better service and better experience for both fans and artists. Our intent is to preserve music's importance in our lives... and the preservation of the (music) industry, delivering the best to the consumer.


"Tidal is a place for a connection between artists and fans, promotes health and sustainability of the industry around the world, and to preserve the value of music and create a space for a healthy and robust industry for years to come."


Following Keys' speech, each artist signed the declaration promising their commitment to the company.


Tidal, which is now available in the U.S., is a subscription hi-fi service that users can access for $19.99 a month. It can be streamed online or downloaded onto iOS and Android devices.

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