Will JayZ’s Tidal be the first streaming service to launch its own record label?

As streaming services continue to gain millions of listeners, and paying subscribers, there is only one thing standing in the way of total industry domination: The record labels that own the wells from which these services draw their content.

It seems obvious that streaming services will bypass labels altogether by creating their own labels, signing artists themselves and gaining control of the wells and the buckets. Yet as obvious as it seems, no one has stepped up to the plate. That’s likely because for most streaming companies, the risks seem to outweigh the benefits. That’s become even more the case as record labels and their banner artists become less shy about confronting these services over their royalty rates.

According to industry analyst Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Consulting, Tidal may stand the best chance of taking the plunge into the label world. “At the moment, Tidal is more about form than it is about function, and it needs some differentiation points.” Tidal could prove that it’s more than just another streaming service if it can create a label environment to exclusively represent and market artists, in addition to simply delivering their content.

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