Jack White answering TMR Vault Members and fans questions and comments about the new TIDAL offer for vault members:
hey y’all,
first off let me say that everyone at third man is excited to be part of offering tidal hifi to our vault members that we treasure so dearly. tmr has always had the goal of preserving the sanctity of music and helping artists who have no voice get thier music heard. below i’ll try to answer some of the more common questions we’ve been hearing. dont worry, none of this is done in negative reaction, i get where you’re coming from and why you are feeling certain ways, but here’s an artists take on the comments and questions, i hope it helps understand where all the musicians are coming from. it’s a tough time for music, i encourage people to be on the side of supporting musicians, giving to them, not taking from them. god bless
jw
III
Q: With the amount we pay for the vault, tidal should be free, not just discounted
jack white: third man does not own or make decisions for tidal, this deal is incredibly cool and took us a long time to work on the logistics of. third man is artist owned, and tidal is artist owned. it wasn’t something we had to do at all, but we wanted
the vault members to all know they come first and they have a portal to this artist run streaming service through us now.
Q: What a joke. I refuse to support The vault and tidal. if you claim music is so special and sacred then why charge a premium for people to enjoy it?
jack white: how much did you pay for that last movie you saw at the theater? and how much did that movie cost to make? dont devalue musicians man, support them. making records is expensive, believe us, i dont see people saying we should go to the movies for free, or netflix should be free. that state of music is in flux, be on the side of supporting creativity, not taking from it. this gives you that chance.
Q: I can purchase a new record every month with that $20.
jack white: please do! when i was a teeenager i would go to the record store twice a month and buy 4 records each trip, anywhere from between 12 and 18 bucks a piece! and guess what? i still do! and with tidal, for 9.99 you have every record they can possibly get there hands on to stream. in the car, in the gym. places you can’t play vinyl right? think about it: how much did you spend on movies this year?
Q: sorry Jack, but I have 0 interest in making jayz more money.
and
Q: I'm sorry, but I don't understand how Jack could be involved in this awful business model. Totally screws the fans, I thought he was a bit above that. How much money does he need?
jack white: a streaming service owned by artists is the first step, it’s not about the rich getting richer. it takes artists that can get peoples attention to be able to make a scenario possible for those artists that dont have a voice to get in a position where they aren’t struggling, and beleive me third man records is full of artists the mainstream’s never heard of and have no voice or power in the system. have you heard of rachelle garnier? what about the smoke fairies? drakar sauna? pujol? the gories? those are just some of the up and coming artists on third man that try to make a living in music. and if you stream thier songs….they get paid for it. and they get to LIVE and not take second jobs….and make MORE music! i support keeping musicians you love in business. we want a full third man roster page on tidal that you can stream hundreds of records on, and each time that artist gets something. that’s a beautiful thing.
and also…do we tell steven spielberg we dont need to pay him anymore to watch his movies? he’s made enough off of us right? he should show his new films for free right? haha
Jack, it was really nice of you to come on here to address some of the concerns from fans. My only issue with Tidal initially was that at a Vault member, I was afraid we’d get the shaft when it came to exclusives. (Yes, I felt a bit of Platinum Member Entitlement, I’m sorry to say.) Cam came along and let us know we wouldn’t be. TIdal is my first experience with streaming music. I normally buy and stick it on the ipod. (I recently upgraded to a brand new Galaxy S6 and cannot believe how old the technology makes me feel.) I signed up for the free trial just in case the Vault link to Fargo didn’t work and wowsie dowsie. I found a lot of music that I lost hard copies of in my divorce. (Was so stoked to find all of the Soledad Brothers – may they RIP – stuff on there!) I was also excited about the offline download options because I don’t wanna use up all my data streaming. I like how it works on my phone and my tablet. Because I’ve never used a streaming service before, I don’t have anything to compare it with from experience, but it seems alright. I think the roll out looked a little too pompous for a lot of our tastes but thanks to your explanation, I get it, and I’m glad you’re a part of it. I also appreciate the deal that was made for us. Taking care of some of your most loyal fans is very kind. I’m also really hoping that the younger generation using Tidal may find your music, and fall down the spectacular rabbit hole of musical history that I did when I first heard your music 14 years ago. It’s enriched my life in so many ways. Anyway, I’m probably writing to myself since I don’t imagine you come back and read this stuff but seriously, thanks for everything. Enjoy your time off the road.
I hope you have an understanding for the customers who have to pay not only for the efforts of the artist, but also have to pay for the whole industry. Because in the end it is the customer who pays for the fight for money between the music industry and the artist.correct me if I am wrong
well said. as always, such a gentleman. but I strongly advice you to stop wasting your precious energy trying to make that people with stone ears (or something like that) hears. it looks like some people just know how to complain and nothing more. what do they want? tidal for free? and if they get it (haha) then, what would be next? they’ll always find another thing to complain. they don’t want to pay for tidal. their lost. they don’t want to pay for the vault. their lost. i’m here now and will be as much as i can. sometimes i (like everyone else) pass through hard times and i know maybe i can’t be always a vault member but as long as i can, i will. and i will support it and enjoy the benefits of doing it. really, Jack, please dismiss all the bad vibes of that vicious comments. forget it. and focus on your magic business, without needing of explain it. thanks for all the light
The movie comparison makes so much sense — I hardly ever hear people complaining about paying $15 for a mediocre movie (“How was [big blockbuster movie]?” “Eh, it was ok.”), yet this streaming music hoopla has gotten all sorts of peoples’ panties in a bunch. Personally, I don’t stream (but I also don’t have internet in my pocket), but if I did I would ONLY do it through a service that gives it straight to the artists. It’s a no-brainer. Thanks, Jack, for taking the time to have a conversation with us about your thoughts on the matter, when you in no way owed us an explanation. And, for that matter, thanks for EVERYTHING you do!
Great work Jack and TMR! Keep up the fight for art!
‘I live in a tiny closet….’
it is a tough time for music. enjoying and supporting art does not come with a wage. Yet movies and music are what keep life beautiful. these records are immaculate not only because they are worth something, but because they continue the Power of the human spirit, which I hope never dies. I will say that as cool as tidal might be focusing on your favorite artists is cooler. BaBa
Right on Jack! Well said!
Well Said. The problem with the internet is you give them an inch and they’ll take a mile or expect a mile. This stuff costs money. And ill gladly pay for this service. Thanks again TMR!
My dad says nothing in life is free, if you ain’t paying for it, someone else is. He’s absolutely right and so are you guys. 5 bucks a month for more music than I can listen to in my lifetime? Hell yeah. Thanks TMR.