Jay Z's music service Tidal has a much higher percentage of black listeners than its competitors
Evan Agostini / AP Images
Tidal, Jay Z's music streaming service, recently announced that it had passed 3 million paying subscribers.
That number was helped by high-profile exclusives from Kanye West and Rihanna, both of whose albums have since made their way to other streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. But the exclusive windows did their job: getting people to download Tidal. Kanye's release, in particular, rocketed Tidal to the top of the App Store download charts.
And there is one demographic where Tidal is doing exceptionally well, according to data provided to Business Insider by SurveyMonkey Intelligence, the company's new app insights platform.
In March, 2016, analysts found that 45% of US Tidal app users identified as black, compared to 16% on Spotify, and 20% on Pandora.
White US users did not have as much of a presence on the service, comprising only 18% of users, compared to 40% on both Spotify and Pandora.
Here is a demographic chart of major streaming services provided by SurveyMonkey Intelligence:
Here is how the services compare in terms of paid subscribers:
Business Insider
Tidal's customer acquisition strategy, since it relaunched a year ago, seems to hinge on securing exclusives from blockbuster artists like Kanye and Rihanna, both of whom also own an undisclosed stake in Tidal.
The company has had its fair share of drama. Jay Z is said to be readying a "giant lawsuit" against the former owners who sold him Tidal. He is seeking to get back something in the region of $15 million, according to Music Business Worldwide. Jay Z reportedly believes the worldwide subscriber number (503,000) was misleading.
Tidal has also seen a string of high-profile departures from the company since it was acquired by Jay Z. Last month, Tidal fired its CFO and COO on the same day, after previously losing two CEOs and a slew of other executives.
Along with Kanye and Rihanna, other musicians who owned a stake in Tidal at launch included Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire (Win Butler and Regine Chassagne), Beyonce, Calvin Harris, Chris Martin, Daft Punk, Deadmau5, Jack White, Jason Aldean, J. Cole, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Shawn "Jay Z" Carter, and Usher.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- One of the world's only 5-star airlines seems to be considering asking business-class passengers to bring their own cutlery
- Experts warn of rising temperatures in Bengaluru as Phase 2 of Lok Sabha elections draws near
- Axis Bank posts net profit of ₹7,129 cr in March quarter
- 7 Best tourist places to visit in Rishikesh in 2024
- From underdog to Bill Gates-sponsored superfood: Have millets finally managed to make a comeback?
- 7 Things to do on your next trip to Rishikesh