Both trending on Twitter.

I think I will stick to buying my music while subscribing to a streaming service for a month here and there when I have a list of artists I want to check out before buying.

Also, paying a premium for a "hi-fi" service when it won't matter a shite if you use it on a phone through crappy earphones.

What a con.

From the Tidal FAQ:

TIDAL already has integration agreements made with 35 of the world’s most respected audio brands, including: Anthem, Airable by Tune In Media, Astell & Kern, Audeze, Audiovector, AudioQuest, Auralic, Aurender, Autonomic, Bel Canto, Bluesound & NAD, Dan D'Agostino, Definitive Technology, Denon HEOS, DTS Play-Fi, Dynaudio, Electrocompaniet, Harman Omni, HiFiAkademie, ickStream, JH Audio, Linn, McIntosh, Meridian, MartinLogan, Paradigm, Polk, Pro-ject, PS Audio, Raumfeld, Simple Audio, Sonos, Steinway Lyngdorf, Wren Sound Systems with more to come.

Playing lossless audio through a top-notch system should sound very good.

My main reservation is that Tidal costs $19.99 in the USA but £19.99 here. I'm in favour of artists getting paid for their work but does that mean they are getting paid around 50% more in the UK than in the USA, or does it mean Tidal is making around 50% more profit here?

Ah the old trick of translating $1 to £1 - UK customers ripped off as usual.

Bandcamp is still the best deal for artists.

Just to clear this up...it's £9.99 in the UK for the same sound quality as Spotify. The £20 serive is for the better quality.

How can something which is optional be a con? People who use crappy earphones aren't likely to pony up for the lossless option.

If people have decent headphones then it may well be worth it.

Either way, I don't see how its a con.

I'm still confused why everyone is saying its £20. I have it on my phone in front of me now, and the two options are £9.99 and £14.99.

OK - that's weird - its £14.99 on the phone, and £19.99 on the website.

Are they different levels depending on whether you want to use it on a computer or on a mobile device?

I don't think Ginger Wildheart is a fan as he just tweeted "The name Tidal is ironic as it looks set to drown those delusional ***** in their own importance."

Weird. I looked it up on the Tidal web site and it says

After your free trial period has ended, the monthly charge is $19.99 in the US, CAD 19.99 in Canada, and £19.99 in the UK.

Why is the subscription cost different in each country?

There are different pricing models for the different countries, so its not simply a case of exchange rates. If you compare TIDAL with other major music or video streaming services, you will notice the same US/UK pricing difference. Pricing is set in cooperation with the labels according to their local market standards.

The thing is, yes, they will offer music in lossless formats free of file compression but what about audio compression? Doubtless it will still use audio that has been mastered for loudness as it's source.

It's in the original mastering that we need a revolution, not in file formats.

Apparently it's not unusual for CD releases to be mastered with a more limited dynamic range than the vinyl pressings of the same albums. So it may be that it becomes common practice for there to be over-compressed versions for CD and more neutral masters for vinyl and HQ streams/downloads.

I signed up for the trial on the phone, saying £14.99. If I go to the website, login and manage subscription, it says I'll be billed £19.99 a month if I don't cancel.

But my email confirmation receipt from iTunes says I'll be billed £14.99.

I'm inclined to think that maybe it is £14.99, but for some reason they still have it as £19.99 on the website.

It's a bit pricey for me. To be honest I use Spotify at 50% off and have done for years, but i'll happily pay £9.99 when the time comes as it's a service I use regularly.

Any more than that just isn't going to happen. I'm really not bothered about getting hi-def audio since I only ever use my basic Sony headphones. Besides, I buy CDs for HQ audio.