'If fans don't want to pay for our music, we don't care': Mumford & Sons slam Jay Z's Tidal... and add that the new streaming service is 'commercial bulls**t'
It launched with great fanfare in March, but Jay Z's new streaming service Tidal has come under fire once again, this time by Mumford & Sons.
The British folk-rock group has stated they 'don't really care' if fans don't pay for their music, adding that the whole idea of the artist-backed enterprise is 'commercial bulls**t'.
The I Will Wait hitmakers have slammed the streaming service, and the artists supporting it, insisting they have absolutely no interest in joining.
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Opinionated: Mumford & Sons have slammed Jay Z's new streaming service Tidal - which costs users $20 a month and features exclusive content - adding that they wouldn't want to join up 'even if they were asked'
Frontman Marcus Mumford told The Daily Beast: 'We wouldn't have joined it anyway, even if they had asked.
'I'm not into the tribalistic aspect of people trying to corner bits of the market and put their face on it. That's just commercial bulls**t.
'We want people to listen to our music in their most comfortable way, and if they're not up for paying for it, I don't really care.'
Tidal was launched last month to rival Spotify but has been criticised for its high subscription fee with some claiming it will drive fans back to illegally downloading music.
Under fire: Jay Z has been criticised for the service, as the British folk-rockers claim that they don't care if their fans pay for their music or not
Banjoist Winston Marshall - who called artists including Rihanna and Madonna 'new school f***ing plurocrats' for backing Tidal added that they also don't want to take the same stance as Taylor Swift, who is openly opposed to such services.
Meanwhile, Jay Z recently hit back at criticism claiming the subscription fees are there to pay writers and producers for their hard work and not just to line the pockets of already rich artists.
The rebranded Tidal streaming service was launched in March by the Holy Grail hitmaker, backed by major music heavyweights including Madonna, Kanye West and the masked electronic duo Daft Punk, who will all be equity partners in the new Tidal and offer exclusive content.
Having his say: 'We want people to listen to our music in their most comfortable way,' frontman Marcus Mumford said
Not interested: Folk-rock hitmaker Mumford & Sons - who have plenty of awards under their belt - think the whole concept of Tidal is 'tribalistic'
Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Usher, Calvin Harris, Coldplay's Chris Martin and members of The Arcade Fire have also signed on as new owners of the platform.
The A-list artists appeared on stage together at the Skylight Moynihan Station in New York City in late March for the live-streamed event, lining up to sign on as supporters.
Rihanna and Beyonce were glowing when putting pen to paper, and a cheeky Madonna lifted her leg on the table, while dance act Daft Punk appeared in their trademark helmets.
The site also features exclusive music videos from R&B singers Rihanna and Alicia Keys and rockers The White Stripes.
Jay Z bought Tidal earlier this year for $56 million from its Swedish-listed parent company Aspiro and markets itself to audiophiles.
Litany of stars: In March, the likes of Kanye West, Madonna, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj joined Jay Z and Beyonce to launch the new rival to streaming service Spotify at a huge event in New York
Piracy to make a comeback? Jay Z and Kanye have high hopes for the service, but many have claimed it'll drive people back to downloading music illegally
But it has since received a lot of criticism, and not just from folk group Mumford & Sons.
British singer Lily Allen lashed out at the service following the launch, saying the high price will drive listeners back to pirating music from torrent sites.
The outspoken star took to Twitter to express her concern for the artist-owned streaming platform Tidal: (JZ's) taken the biggest artists ... made them exclusive to TIDAL (am I right in saying this?) ... people are going to swarm back to pirate sites in droves,' she posted.
'... up and coming (not yet millionaire) artists are going to suffer as a result.'
The singer also took aim at the high audio quality offered by Tidal, suggesting many music fans don't have the top-end equipment to hear the difference.
'Also, unless TIDAL start sending everyone good quality headphones, the resolution thing is kinda redundant,' the Smile hitmaker tweeted.
She has a view: Lily Allen recently shared her views on Tidal, insisting that it'll make piracy levels swarm once again
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