TIDAL layoffs... makes you wonder...

[Todd Anderson]

Looks like TIDAL is having some issues... really makes you wonder if there are too many streaming services out there, especially when you consider the dominance of Spotify who isn't even streaming Hi-Res.

Tidal Hit With 2nd Layoff In A Year, Focus Shifts To Startup Mentality

Tidal Faces Another Layoff: Explore the latest news on Jack Dorsey's music streaming service and its impact on the industry.

cecritic.com

 

[Sonnie Parker]

How many people can work at a company like Tidal? It wouldn't seem like there would be that many to have two waves of layoffs.

What would they be doing if there were that many that they couldn't afford to pay?

Sounds like a great company for Harman.

 

[Todd Anderson]

That's a really great question. Going off memory... they have somewhere between 200-400 employees. It would seem that they're probably sized on the lower end of that. Surprising that it's even at that level.

You obviously have a team of technology folks that handle app development and storage... then Q/A folks... customer service reps... and then a team of account managers that deal with record labels and artists. Am I missing something?

 

[Michael Boeker]

Streaming has hardly produced any profit yet. TIDAL isn't in the top six streaming services globally.

From Billboard.com:

. . . TIDAL’s financial issues, including multimillion-dollar losses for 10 straight quarters; some $127 million in liabilities, largely in the form of unpaid streaming fees to record labels; and a $50 million loan that Jay-Z extended the company in 2020​

​

According to Goldman Sachs’ June 2023 Music in the Air report, the top six streaming services globally — Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Tencent Music and NetEase — accounted for 92.2% of the global streaming market, and by 2030, that number is predicted to climb to around 94%. And yet, the music streaming business model has yet to produce many profits for anyone, even a company as big and as synonymous with the space as Spotify, which reported a 2022 annual operating loss of 659 million euros (around $720 million) and recently slashed 17% of its work force, or some 1,500 jobs, in the pursuit of profits.​

 

[Sonnie Parker]

It makes me wonder how much longer they can keep doing it.

I also wonder how much the big dogs (CEO, Presidents, etc) of each company are paying themselves.

 

[Spidacat]

Probably not too surprising? Once you get the initial infrastructure and catalog set up (lots of work), maintaining and adding new stuff is probably way less labor intensive.

 

[MichaelBrown]

I agree with you.

 

[ElaineMorgan]

You are right.