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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Two weeks after various [theverge.com] outlets [9to5mac.com] reported [engadget.com] that Jay-Z's [wikipedia.org] music streaming service Tidal was having money problems, Tidal will offer a 12-day free trial [theverge.com] (Dec. 25 to Jan. 5):

Tidal is getting into the holiday spirit. The streaming service is opening up its platform to anyone and everyone for 12 days beginning on Christmas, with no credit card required (a usual requirement for free streaming trials). The free trial will cover Tidal's Hi-Fi tier as well, so if you've been wanting to try out high-fidelity music, now is your chance.

Meanwhile, YouTube has done some work behind the scenes [managementtoday.co.uk] to launch a new attempt at getting people to pay for music:

After years of bickering over rights, YouTube has finally signed all three of the major music record labels into long-term deals. This week, Universal and Sony both reached rights agreements with the Alphabet platform, joining Warner Music Group. Though YouTube still needs to make deals with companies like the Merlin consortium of smaller labels to be fully comprehensive, the way is now paved for it to launch its hotly-tipped streaming service next year. [...] YouTube's anticipated streaming service, dubbed YouTube Remix by Bloomberg, could seem a little late to the party. With Spotify readying for an IPO and swapping stakes with Tencent, Apple music firmly established and Tidal, well, just being Tidal, streaming is already a crowded space.

Alphabet has tried to crack the streaming market before, launching its own premium Google play music service in 2011, but it's not exactly been a smash hit with a market share even smaller than Amazon, Deezer and Tidal's. It launched YouTube Music Key in 2014 to offer ad-free music videos, and this morphed into YouTube Red in 2016. Hopes that this would change the music scene were dashed, however, as YouTube Red gravitated towards entertainment videos instead. The chances are, Alphabet will look to combine its Google Play service with a premium YouTube service for music fans.

Related: Tidal Wave: New Kanye West Album Torrented Half a Million Times [soylentnews.org]
Amazon Said to Plan Music-Streaming Service for its Echo Speaker [soylentnews.org]
Vinyl and Streaming Sales Offset CD Decline in UK Music Sales [soylentnews.org]
Pandora Explores Sale After Securing $150 Million [soylentnews.org]
All Your Bass are Belong to Us: Soundcloud Fans Raid Site for Music Amid Fears of Total Collapse [soylentnews.org]
YouTube Red and Google Play Music to Merge [soylentnews.org]
Spotify and Hulu Team Up for $5-Per-Month Student Bundle [soylentnews.org]
Music Piracy On Increase Worldwide: Industry Group [soylentnews.org]
Portugal's Internet Shows us a World Without Net Neutrality -- It's Ugly [soylentnews.org]
Apple Buys Music Recognition Service Shazam for $400 Million [soylentnews.org]

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