The video streaming service landscape just got a little more crowded.
Rapper Jay Z's music streaming service, Tidal, has announced that is offering original programming — including a new comedy that launches at noon on Tuesday — for its paying subscribers.
Tidal is introducing new programming “as part of its mission to provide members with the best content exclusively – whether it’s a new track album, music video, film, live stream, interactive experience or video series,” a spokeswoman for the service told Mashable in an email statement.
The news of Tidal's expansion comes after a rough start for the company, which has experienced layoffs and management shake ups since launching in March. The music streaming service has also faced tough competition from Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube; now Tidal adds Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and a handful of standalone services from television networks to its growing list of competitors.
Jay Z, a media mogul who is reportedly worth $550 million, launched the service during a star-studded press conference in New York. Its goal was to ensure that artists get paid fairly for their work when it streams. In addition to Jay Z (born Shawn Carter) and his wife, superstar Beyoncé, Tidal stakeholders include a slew of powerhouse artists such as Jack White, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Rihanna and Madonna.
“I think there are three main reasons why Tidal and streaming services want to break into original programming,” analyst Russ Crupnick of MusicWatch told Mashable. “The general audience appeal, the ability to potentially retain your audience with that kind of programming and the hope that the programming gets some legs and attracts more people or goes viral.”
Available starting Tuesday, Tidal's first exclusive series is a comedy show called No Small Talk, hosted by radio and television personality Cipha Sounds.
“We first came up with the idea probably three or four months ago,” Cipha told Mashableon Tuesday. “I've worked a lot with Jay Z and I've been doing comedy for a while…once I pitched the idea and they pushed the button, it got done right away.”
Each episode of the series, which is about 25 to 30 minutes long, will feature three relatively new stand-up comedians.
“There are a lot of comedians that don’t get exposure in the comedy game,” said Cipha. “And I’m trying to find new ways to get these new comedians exposure….I’m also looking to get new fans and worldwide exposure.”
Though there are plenty of other streaming services out there, Cipha is confident that Tidal will stand out.
“You can’t predict the future but I know they [Tidal] put a lot of effort into making their stuff good, so i don’t see why it wouldn’t be a winner,” he said.
Tidal will also be home to YouTube drama Money & Violence, which follows a group of thieves and drug dealers in Flatbush, a neighborhood in Brooklyn. Season 1 will be available in its entirety on Tidal, with additional exclusive commentary from the cast. Season 2 will also air on Tidal exclusively for a week before being available elsewhere.
Variety first reported the news about Tidal's foray into original programming on Monday.
Tidal, which costs $10 or $20 a month, is available in 46 countries and has a library of 36 million songs and about 86,000 high quality videos. It also is home to exclusive live streams of concerts.
