Launched as the “first artist-owned streaming service” with the help of such heavyweights as Beyoncé, Madonna, and its most famous board member (JAY-Z), TIDAL has made supporting new music its core mission since 2015.
This rings especially true with TIDAL Rising, a well-curated Artists to Watch program featured in monthly playlists and exclusive web content. And then there’s TIDAL X, a series of “compelling experiences for true fans” like Chance the Rapper’s Magnificent Coloring Day festival and the Paris Fashion Week debut of Rihanna’s Puma x Fenty collection.
That’s just scratching the surface of the service’s potential, though. Fresh off a $297 million deal with Square in early 2021, JAY-Z doubled down on TIDAL’s unique position as a “platform that supports artists at every point in their career, [offering] better tools to assist them in their creative journey.”
Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your TIDAL account as it enters a new era overseen by Twitter/Square CEO Jack Dorsey.
Submit Your Songs If You’re Unsigned
If you don’t already have a record label/publisher in place to handle administration issues, TIDAL accepts songs from all major aggregators / digital music distributors. This includes Record Union, Indigoboom, Tunecore, Symphonic, DistroKid and CD Baby.
Since there are many similarities between each distributor, we recommend weighing your options before making a final decision and checking out this post on the key differences between digital publishing and distro.
Keep Your Artist Profile Current
First impressions are particularly important when it comes to streaming platforms. After all, thousands of potential fans are going to “see” your music well before they hear any of it. Make sure your cover art, press photos, and current bio are shared with your distributor so that it is integrated with TIDAL correctly and reflects what you and your records are really about.
Ready Your Album Rollout
When you upload your music to TIDAL, it will ask you to set a “street date”. You can choose to have it go online immediately or plan a later drop around tour dates, marketing events, and/or a coordinated email campaign.
Share Your Social Media Info
Make sure your fans can follow you on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook by filling out a request form on the service you selected to upload your music.
Create, Upload and Share Playlists
If you don’t already have a TIDAL account, sign up and either create new playlists or use the transfer feature to submit existing sets. Creating playlists helps promote your own music and your favorite songs and influences. What better way to create a connection between you and your listeners, right?
Remember to keep in mind that nobody likes a hard sell, so make playlists for TIDAL (or any streaming service, for that matter) the same way you’d make them for your best friend. You can also embed your playlist, album, or just one track on your own website and social media channels. Don’t miss a chance to show fans and potential fans what you’re all about.
If you want to keep things uniform across all your streaming platforms, you can convert any pre-existing playlists for TIDAL with Soundiiz.
To ensure you’re collecting all your mechanical and performance royalties globally, register for Songtrust as your publishing administrator today.
