TIDAL, the high-definition music streaming platform, is not having the best of times. The company has already made layoffs, and its management has been mulling a potential restructuring to get back on track to profitability. Now, a report claims that an upcoming round of layoffs will affect around a quarter of the current TIDAL staff.
Competition in the music streaming service segment has become quite fierce. Other platforms have been getting more and more features and a growing catalog of songs. TIDAL’s main selling point over the others has always been Hi-Fi audio. While rival services were betting on formats with quality compression, TIDAL offered premium plans with lossless music.
TIDAL could get rid of a quarter of its staff in new round of layoffs
However, the arrival of high-quality audio plans at rival services probably led a percentage of TIDAL users to consider switching. While the latter’s Hi-Fi quality typically offers a higher bit rate than its rivals, only a specific niche of users truly value this feature. It even requires using earbuds or headphones of a certain range to enjoy it.
In December 2023, the company shed around 10% of its workforce. Now, according to Fortune, an upcoming round of layoffs will impact around a quarter of TIDAL’s workforce. The source says they gained access to a memo from Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Block Block Head (Tidal’s parent company). “We’re reducing the size of our design team and foundational roles supporting TIDAL, and we will consider reducing engineering over the next few weeks as we have more clarity around leadership going forward,” the memo said, according to Fortune.
In this round of layoffs, around 100 employees could leave the company. In July of this year, Dorsey was reportedly considering restructuring TIDAL. The staff reduction could align with this plan. TIDAL is not the only tech company to have made massive layoffs recently. Others, like DropBox and even Meta, have had to do the same.
Recent moves to make TIDAL more attractive
Earlier this year, in a move to become more competitive in the market, TIDAL bundled its Hi-Fi plans. Priced at $10.99, the new premium subscription undercuts the previous, more expensive one. The company has also made moves to solidify its position as a streaming service focused on Hi-Fi audio. The list includes setting FLAC as the default format and adding Dolby Atmos support.
