Someone just had a drastic change of opinion on the use of streaming services.
According to Forbes, Prince has announced he has a new album that is set to be released soon, but one has to sign up for Tidal to access it.
New York Times reported that Prince has been an advocate of artists' rights, which explains why his music is not available in most streaming services. However, he has a special treatment for Tidal, where he has decided to lend his music through the subscription service.
The new album called "HitNRun" is part of a partnership with Jay Z's Tidal, which is said to be hosting the album starting September 7 this year.
Before "HitNRun," Prince has also launched a new single called "HARDROCKLOVER" last month.
It can be recalled that Prince also had a partnership with Tidal when he launched his protest song, "Baltimore." He also put a live stream version of a benefit concert in Maryland, according to Rolling Stone.
In a statement issued by Prince via Rolling Stone, he said, "After one meeting, it was obvious that Jay Z and the team he has assembled at Tidal recognize and applaud the effort that real musicians put in2 their craft 2 achieve the very best they can at this pivotal time in the music industry." He also appreciated Tidal not imposing a very restrictive arrangement and expressed his gratitude to the generous support of Tidal.
As a response, Jay Z said to Rolling Stone, "Prince has always been a visionary, a free thinker." He said Tidal and prince share a common belief that creatives should always be given a chance to speak directly with their supporters, and Prince's partnership with Tidal reflects this ideal: direct connection to the world.
"HitNRun," which was first mentioned in BBC in in July, was named after his "pop-up concert tours, where gigs were announced on the day." Prince did not mention any formal or physical release of the new album, only access to the streaming service was revealed.
Rolling Stone notes that "HitNRun" seems to serve as the latest weapon in the war between exclusive content and streaming services. This is also a response to the streaming of Dr. Dre's "Compton" on Apple Music.
According to Prince, "HitNRun" only took 90 days to prepare its release. He adds,"If that's what freedom feels like, HitNRun is what it sounds like."