Grimes Enters The Tidal Debate
Following yesterday’s impassioned plea from Jay Z to give Tidal more time, Grimes — who started working with his Roc Nation management company in 2013 — Grimes added her two cents to the debate in an Instagram post that has since been deleted. Here’s what she said (via Pigeons And Planes):
Mad respect for tidal!! I literally know musicians who live in cars and storage spaces etc. And I know some pretty popular musicians who still struggle to make ends meet. Unless artists have a popular live show there aren’t a lot of income streams available. People have characterized tidal negatively but I promise it’s 100% artist friendly, and fan friendly since yall have the option to pay the same rate as other streaming respect to everyone involved for doing the right thing for struggling artists – this kind of thing is so important, especially for indie music! PS I AM SIGNED TO 4AD!! The misconception that I am not an independent artist anymore is incorrect, i can speak as an independent artist here. Roc nation manages me, I’m not signed to them nor do I have any investment in tidal, nor did anyone ask me to say this. Ps to everyone who buys music respect! Glad to hear many of u buy music rather than stream which is the best way to support smaller artists! ^_^ and also, for those who can’t afford streaming or buying music, I do not judge anyone for that! This is a suggestion, not a demand, in sorry it has created so much anger amongst yall
The text was accompanied by a screenshot of the following tweet from Jay Z:
Tidal pays 75% royalty rate to ALL artists, writers and producers – not just the founding members on stage.
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015