The Music Industry’s Most Powerful Players Launch Tidal

Did you feel a seismic shift in the Earth's gravitational pull just now? That force was generated by the megawatt music moguls who took the stage to sign a sort of declaration of artistic independence for the new streaming service called Tidal. Jay Z is the main force behind the new platform's launch, and he had his famous friends acting as hype men and women all day today. The actual reveal took place at 5 p.m. today in New York City. Tidal's co-owners gathered in front of a live audience and a live stream to announce their intentions for launching the Spotify rival. Still, Jay doesn't want people to view it that way. "It’s not me against Spotify, but for us, you know, just the idea of the way we came into it, with everyone having equity, will open the dialogue — whether it be with the labels, the publishers or whoever," he told Billboard. We weren't kidding about the whole industry heavyweight part, either. Behold the team of music biz power players bringing Tidal to life: Alicia Keys
Win Butler (Arcade Fire)
Régine Chassagne (Arcade Fire)
Beyoncé
Daft Punk
Jack White
Jason Aldean
Chris Martin
deadmau5
Calvin Harris
J. Cole
Jay Z
Kanye West
Madonna
Nicki Minaj
Rihanna
Usher Alicia Keys acted as spokeswoman for the group, kicking off the announcement with a quote. "We believe that Friedrich Nietzsche couldn't have been more right when he said, 'Without music, life would have been a mistake.'"  She proceeded to read Tidal's artistic mission statement, and then her fellow owners joined Keys in signing a declaration of intent. It was certainly the most powerful signatory event we've watched in a while. Watch it right here.