Albums disappearing from TIDAL - beginning of its end?

Anecdotal, but relevant I guess to this discussion...

Couple of months ago, I saw a local ad from a neighbor who was giving away CDs. Turns out he was all of 1/2 mile away from where I live. He had a large cardboard box of about 80 CDs he was just going to throw away if there were no takers. I asked why throw them out - his reply was that he and his family stream their music, so why keep the CDs.

Go visit the boglehead forum - lots of retired folks are quite proud of their downsizing decisions to ditch all of their CDs for streaming.

Do they post here? No.

 

I've been told that albums come and go from Tidal with some frequency. It's another reason I've so far preferred to maintain a home music server (QNAP nas and Roon Nucleus) vs. a streaming service. I have about 1800 redbook and hi res albums, obviously some get listened to a lot more than others. But at least I know that if I want to listen to it it'll be there.

 

If this is for home use, you can get a cheap NAS, rip your collection, and it'll be available for streaming on your network throughout your home on any device. Unless you delete an album, it'll never vanish from the list.

 

Very well put. I suspect what will happen for the next couple of decades (at least) is people will migrate from one streaming service to another, each with their own library and parameters (bitrate, etc).

Although there is merit to a degree in subscribing to a channel and hearing new-to-you material which could lead to discovering artists and albums, I accomplish the same by navigating YouTube and then buy the LP or CD so to me, there is little use for streaming.

I agree wholeheartedly with the "nothing" comment. Having my music and making it available to everyone at home without wondering if album X will be available next week is a joy. I get to pick what is there and it'll always be there unless I remove it. Saving the cost of a subscription is nothing but the frustration of looking for albums instead of flipping through my library isn't something I experience, now.

 

Yeah, ditching CDs is a thing, as well as people under 40 just don't buy them at all. I buy and rip when I come across good deals. I think Amazon is sleeping giant, their Echo Show devices have USB/HDMI outs but they aren't used at moment...very soon they could flip a switch and make them all easy to use front end jukebox to feed digital music to any rig. Further, anyone who's bought CDs from Amazon probably has that same music in their Amazon music locker automatically, most don't know its there waiting.

Amazon could buy Tidal with spare change if they wanted the user base.

 

My wife ditched her CDs for Apple Music. She doesn’t post here She loves her tunes, but realizes it’s not the end of the world if there Apple Music’s 50+ million songs is missing something she really wants to hear. There’s always Amazon/eBay to grab a disc in a pinch.

 

I noticed today on my Tidal Playlist I had Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions 20 Greatest Hits was cut down to six songs. And the picture next to the remaining songs were from different Albums. I tried to look up the Album and it was nowhere to be found. I thought it was the best Greatest Hits album in terms of selection and SQ. Very disappointed.

 

No albums are disappearing from my CD collection.... just sayin'.

 

Yeah, same with mine. Do I need to state for the record that I'm aware the public at large prefers streaming and considers CDs to be dinosaur bones? I felt here on a community for enthusiasts which often generates 50 page threads on the best way to clean records I'm addressing people who understand they're outliers.

But hey, if the usual suspects who arrive in every streaming thread solely to announce they're sticking with CDs also want to provide anecdotes about people they know who don't listen to CDs anymore, that's cool too I suppose. I'll consider it a sick burn.

 

Streaming is what it is, and part of what it is is NOT a guaranteed collection of music. You pays your money and you get whatever they offer you for as long as they offer it. And if stuff disappears, you still have tens of thousands of other artists and titles to choose from. Just like Netflix or Amazon Prime or even cable TV for that matter. It's a service, not an ownership contract. And I find it to be a pretty cool supplement to my collection of physical media.

And if I come across something that I can't stand to see disappear, I buy it. But there's thousands of things that don't reach that threshold.

 

It's sounds tough being a "Renter" when the landlord cut the utility service. The next step is rising the price.

 

The same. What's interesting is the mental steps I take (or don't take) to determine exactly where that threshold is. I know for a fact I don't need to physically own Flo Rida albums. But I've been going back and forth on Danzig II.

 

Generally the path forward seems pretty clear to me. I know I don't really want to buy any John Denver albums but it's nice to hear them on Spotify once in a while.

 

If you really want accessibility to certain music whenever you want it, buy it!!!

 

These large scale batch licensing deals are time limited so they will run out and have to be renewed and then it will be a battle much like the one the regional sports nets have every couple of years with the cable system operators.

But the removal of these albums may not be a case of a large scale deal coming to an end. Like, that Marsalis album was a Blue Note release, and there are plenty of other Blue Notes still up on Tidal. So it may be related to some more granular contract or licensing change.

 

Or, just trying out new music from bands you used to be into. A lot of things used to be day 1 purchases for me, now I can stream them upon release day (or whenever!) and see if I'm really into it. If so, I don't mind spending $20 or so on the LP to support the band/music if I really like it. If not, no money lost, onto the next listen!

Remember those music-listening stations at Tower Records? These streaming services would have made my mind explode, 20 years ago.

 

Yes, this is how I use streaming. I've said this in another thread, but in the 10 years prior to streaming, I purchased 0 (zero) physical media. In the approximate year since I began streaming, I have purchased about 500 CDs. (Caveat: I'm a classical music listener, so, in addition to single CDs, I have purchased several box sets, which consist of from 2 CDs to several dozen CDs.) The point is that I have begun to purchase physical media again due to being able to "preview" music via streaming.

 

I've tried out various streaming services at friends and acquaintances houses ... sorely lacking in stuff essential to me, all of them. I'm glad I made the decision to stick with CD. I may need to lay in a couple spare universal players, just in case the corporations stop making them, like my $399 Pioneer Elite machine (does BluRay, SACD, DVD, and CD, sounds alright.)

Plus I hate how musicians are getting screwed by almost everyone now, online ...

 

Ohh where is the like button!! There, I found it!

LIKE

Yes and the problem is we have effected the mind.

If we get a"all music" in the world for FREE.
When it don't cost anything. Then it is not worth anything..
-Audiofiliac

 

I subscribe to both Tidal and Qobuz, and find that they are great for new music, music discovery and filling in arcane stuff that I don't own. That being said, streaming is no substitute for owning the best versions of the recordings that are important to you on disc or vinyl. Even if a financially solid entity starts offering hi rez streaming (which Amazon says it will do), there is no assurance that entity won't change its mind at some point and cutback.

 

Streaming is the perfect option for people who don’t take care with their physical media.

 

I thought a vast majority of Dio's catalog disappeared from Tidal, but it turns out there are now two artists named Dio and most of Dio's albums are now under some rapper.

 

Gotta love computers.

 

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Same here. I subscribe to both and have my thousands of CDs, Sacds ripped. I play everything thru Roon. What I like is I can play one of my ripped albums and with a click check to see what versions are available in Roon or Tidal ( hi Rez, remaster, deluxe).