You told us loud and clear: You aren't ready to say goodbye to Tidal

Last month, my colleague Tom Triggs wrote an article questioning whether Tidal might be nearing its end, highlighting the music streaming service’s declining market share, staff layoffs, and integration cutbacks. We asked you—our readers—to weigh in on Tidal’s future, and the response was definitive and perhaps surprising, given the service’s business challenges.

With over 2,700 votes cast, a striking 84% of respondents declared, “No, Tidal is awesome!” while only 16% believed the service might be on its way out. This overwhelming show of support suggests that while Tidal may be struggling from a business perspective, it maintains a fiercely loyal user base.

What readers are saying

The comments section of our original article provided valuable insights into why so many users remain committed to Tidal despite its relatively small market position:

• “I hear nuances in music never heard using other services. I’ll continue to use Tidal as long as it’s available” — Barry Mason
• “I recently switched to Tidal, and the sound quality is night and day above anything I’ve used previously. I find it to be a great value at its new price.” — pants
• “Tidal is the best, way better than Spotify. Spotify couldn’t even start up HiFi… I used Spotify for years before switching to Tidal. I’m never going back as long as Tidal is available.” — Jim Cerven
• “I have Tidal for my DJ business; it works with my Denon equipment and sounds amazing through my Bose Pro audio!” — Dan Vasquez
• “I will say that I have loved tidal music since I had it included in my Sprint cell phone plan before T-Mobile acquired them. While back then, tidal was absolutely amazing. Now I deal with full 5G almost all the time, and Tidal music continues to lose connection about every 5-10 songs.” — Robert Schach

The comments paint a clear picture: for Tidal users, audio quality remains the platform’s defining feature and primary reason for loyalty. Multiple readers highlighted the “night and day” difference they experience compared to other streaming services, with several specifically mentioning they have no intention of switching to Spotify despite its market dominance.

This emphasis on sound quality could largely be attributed to Tidal’s HiRes FLAC files, which deliver lossless 24-bit, 192 kHz audio—a substantial technical advantage over Spotify’s maximum 320kbps bitrate.

What this means for Tidal’s future

While Tidal faces significant business challenges—including a tiny market share compared to the “Big Three” of Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music—it has cultivated a dedicated user base that values quality over convenience.

For Block, Tidal’s parent company, our results might indicate that while scaling back investment makes financial sense in the short term, completely abandoning the platform would alienate a passionate user community. The challenge will be finding a sustainable business model that can maintain Tidal’s quality advantage.

What’s clear is that if Tidal were to disappear tomorrow, it would leave a significant gap in the music streaming landscape that the major players currently aren’t positioned to fill.

Do you use Tidal? What features keep you on the platform despite the availability of more popular alternatives? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below.