Two music producers released an album on Spotify and Tidal to see which streaming service was best

Two music producers who had created a compilation album of hip-hop artists wanted to do something different with their new record, so they released it simultaneously on rival streaming services Spotify and Tidal, Billboard reports.

Jonathan Hay and Mike Smith are the co-producers of the mixtape "When Music Worlds Collide." It features some well-known names, including Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck. So even though it wasn't a major-label release, there's certainly interest in it.

It has been a week since the album landed on Spotify and Tidal. So which service is best? Surprisingly, the producers sound like they prefer Tidal. "I went into the Tidal experience a little skeptical because of some of the things I was reading in the media, which was completely misguided," Hay said.

The producers preferred the high-resolution streaming tier of Tidal because it replicated the original sound of their music. Smith said that he "compared [Tidal] to my computer file of one of our songs and the quality was almost insane. Streaming through Tidal sonically has really come of age."

But a big part of why the producers liked Tidal is that the streaming service promoted their album and replied to their emails. Roc Nation, Jay Z's entertainment company, gave the producers "great feedback" on their album and featured it on Tidal's front page.

But Spotify did well on music recommendations, keeping track of what music a user had listened to, and Smith preferred its app. So it sounds like the producers prefer Tidal for the way it treats the audio quality, but like the actual functionality of Spotify. But, what the Billboard article doesn't reveal, is which service made them more money.