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Jay-Z Borrows From The Internet Activist Playbook to Launch His Music App Tidal

Change your profile picture to a turquoise-coloured square to support this important cause.
​Image: ​Tidal

There are few people on Earth as beloved as Jay-Z, but the rapper-turned-entrepreneur is still capable of big, public screw-ups: whatever happened in that elevator with Solange, his lame verse on Kayne's "Monster," and now, borrowing language and protest techniques from the internet activist toolkit to launch his really expensive music-streaming service.

Like Neil Young's Pono, a ​$400 high-fidelity music player, Tidal aims to be the celebrity-endorsed luxury tier of streaming services. Jay-Z bid $56 million for Tidal's parent company in January. Unlike Spotify, there's no free version of Tidal; there is only a $19.95 monthly subscription. For twice the cost of Spotify, Tidal subscribers get Taylor Swift's back catalog and high quality lossless audio.

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But to advertise the launch of Tidal, the likes of Kayne West, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, and Madonna—as well as other musicians less often associated with the Illuminati, such as Jack White and Coldplay—all changed their social media profile pictures to a turquoise-coloured square.

"The Tides They Are-A Changing" #TIDALforALL

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) March 30, 2015

And after Jay-Z's posted a variation on a Bob Dylan's protest rally standard at midnight, participating artists and/or their social media teams included a similar message, somewhere along the lines of "Together, we can turn the tide and make music history. Start by turning your profile picture blue," and followed by the hashtag ​#TIDALforALL.

Together, we can turn the tide and make music history. Start by turning your profile picture blue. #TIDALforALL

— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) March 30, 2015

It's not uncommon for Twitter and Facebook users to change their avatars in support of various causes: While the US Supreme Court was debating the Defense of Marriage Act in March 2013, ​supporters of marriage equality changed their profile pictures to the Human Rights Campaign's logo. During the 2009 Green Movement in Iran, millions of Twitter users tinted their avatars green.

Unlike Tidal, these gestures were a small form of social activism. You can, ​and many have, debated whether this is effective activism or whether it should even count as activism at all, but regardless, #TIDALforALL is categorically different.

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We have a word for it is. It's called advertising.

#TIDALforALL (people who can afford a $240 annual subscription)

— Tim Ingham (@musicbizworld) March 30, 2015

Twitter users noticed the similarity right away, and characteristically voiced their displeasure at the perceived hijacking. What other reaction could be expected from people who believe in—and stand up for—the activist power of Twitter?

#TIDALforALL is an examples of big corporations/celebrities appropriating social justice/online activist ideas to make them money.

— Tatenda|Ubuntu (@NeoAfrican) March 30, 2015

Some pointed out that several of the artists participating are pretty much the most successful in the world, and that whatever tidal shift this service starts only serves to make the rich richer.

That moment you realize #TIDALforALL is not a movement for a good cause but jus to fill someone's pockets.

— Jill (@JillyPopTht) March 30, 2015

Others pointed out that this a pretty self-serving cause for people who didn't use their platforms to speak out over a summer of hashtag activism that rose in response to the killing of Michael Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in New York.

When the fans needed yee, nicki bey jay to comment on Trayvon, Mike,Eric. yall were silent. Now, you want us to support #TIDALforALL bye.

— Brown Sugar (@LAUU04) March 30, 2015

Man.. Hov, Rih, Ye, Usher, Nicki coming together for #TIDALforALL but not even peep about #BlackLivesMatter? Yikes…

— Leader The Follow (@DevineCarama) March 30, 2015

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Some dutifully followed along, oblivious that they were part of a product tie-in. This is a different type of failure of advertising.

#TIDALforALL idk what this means but Kanye told me to do this so I'm rolling with it

— Anthony Capelli (@Anthony_Capelli) March 30, 2015

What tide is changing here? Given that Tidal is already being called a rival to Spotify, presumably the service will aim to hit Spotify's most public weakness—how little it pays artists. A request for comment sent to Tidal has yet to be answered (though, presumably, Jay-Z will address compensation at a press event today at 5 pm).

But even if Tidal pays artists more, it still isn't a revolution. It's a product, maybe a slightly more ethical product, but an expensive one at that. #TIDALforALL is a way of saying "everyone should give us 20 bucks a month" in as few characters as possible.

This isn't the first time that the language or tools of a social movement ​have been appropriated to sell something. But maybe Tidal and Jay-Z knew that this would trigger backlash, and have learned from Kayne that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Maybe they're deeply cynical about the power of Twitter social movements, and are confident that their brand can weather the outrage.

Or maybe the fact that we get advertising and activism and celebrity #engagement all through the same medium is confusing. Of course someone was going to try to capitalize on that confusion eventually.