TIDAL opens direct uploads for indie artists, but tracks won’t earn royalties

TIDAL is rolling out a direct upload feature that lets independent artists publish their work on the streaming platform without going through traditional distribution channels.

The feature positions Block-owned TIDAL as a competitor to SoundCloud, which pioneered the direct-upload and discovery model for independent artists.

The new TIDAL Upload service allows artists to post tracks directly to the music service, where the tracks become available alongside the platform’s catalog of 180 million songs.

Uploaded tracks are accessible to all listeners, including those without paid subscriptions, and artists can keep tracks private to share only with selected collaborators.

However, there’s a significant caveat: According to the FAQs, tracks uploaded via TIDAL’s new tool do not generate streaming royalties.

The earning opportunities for tracks uploaded directly via the platform come through a weekly spotlight program where TIDAL’s team reviews new uploads for promotion.

Selected tracks get placement on top playlists and the homepage. Artists whose work gets playlisted become eligible for $100 daily payments to their Cash App accounts for each day their music remains featured.

TIDAL is also launching the upload feature with a contest called Upload Headliners that will distribute $1 million in prizes. Ten artists will receive $100,000 each, with winners selected from original tracks uploaded to the platform. The contest ends on December 31.

TIDAL said in an Instagram post in September: “Our editors spotlight the best published tracks and add them to featured playlists, giving you an opportunity to earn new listeners, fans, and cash awards from TIDAL via Cash App.”

TIDAL Upload is currently available to artists aged 18 and older in the US at zero cost. TIDAL says tracks can go from upload to streaming in about 60 seconds.

Users can upload up to 200 tracks directly to the platform, and via the Upload platform and can view stream or listener counts from the past 30 days.

The new upload service marks TIDAL’s latest offering for artists after launching tools last year for songwriters in the US to claim and manage their work. The new tools became available at TIDAL Artist Home, a portal the company launched in 2023 that enables artists to manage their presence on the platform.

To develop the tools, TIDAL partnered with AllTrack, a performance rights organization (PRO) launched in 2019 to serve independent artists.

Last year, TIDAL owner Block reportedly laid off a quarter of the DSP’s staff so that it can operate “like a startup again.”

“So we’re going to part ways with a number of folks on our team,” Block CEO Jack Dorsey (the former CEO of Twitter) wrote in a memo cited by Fortune in October 2024.

TIDAL already eliminated 10% of its payroll – or about 40 employees – in December 2023, following a letter to investors from Dorsey announcing that Block would cap its total payroll at 12,000.

In 2021, Block – still known at that time by its former name, Square – acquired TIDAL for $297 million.

Earlier in 2024, TIDAL merged its HiFi and HiFi Plus offerings into a single tier priced at $10.99 per month in the US. That same year, the company launched a new tool that enables indie artists to track their streams on the service and ensure they are being paid correctly.

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