Tidal Introduces Direct-To-Fan Sales, 90% Goes to the Artist

Tidal is giving independent artists in the United States the opportunity to sell digital album downloads – or Paid Uploads, to use the platform’s terminology – direct to fans.

Why it matters:

• With a 90/10 split in favor of artists, this is a far more profitable option for independent acts compared with the pennies they receive per stream.

• As Digital Music News points out, it puts Tidal in direct competition with Bandcamp.

• Having first enabled independent artists to upload their music directly to the platform in November, this is Tidal’s next strategic step in aligning itself with the independent community.

Comparison:

• Tidal takes a 10% fee of the Paid Upload price, with the artist pocketing the rest.

• Bandcamp takes 15% of digital download sales, though that drops to a 10% revenue share once an artist’s sales reach $5,000 across 12 months.

• Both platforms charge payment processing fees.

How it works:

• Artists set their own price on their Paid Uploads.

• They must own 100% of the rights to the sound recording and underlying composition, as well as the lyrics, samples, artwork and related materials.

• Tracks ineligible for Paid Upload include those containing uncleared samples; covers without proper licenses and distribution rights; collaborations without documented agreements from all contributors; and content that was previously removed from Tidal for violating its policy.

• Once a sale is made, the price minus the 10% platform fee is sent to a Stripe account connected to the artist’s profile and becomes available for payout.