Tidal Rankings Fall Flat

Just weeks following its debut, Tidal now ranks as the 50th-most popular music app in the iTunes store, and has reportedly fallen out of the iPhone top 700 download chart in the U.S.

Jay Z and some of his superstar friends have been pretty vocal about their disdain for services like Spotify, which offers free ad-supported music streaming.

Some artists – Taylor Swift is one example – have even gone so far as to yank their catalogues from Spotify over the service’s royalty rate structure. So with the launch of the “first ever artist-owned global music and entertainment platform,” Jay Z and Co. announced Tidal would forever change the course of music history.

But tell that to Pandora or Spotify, which currently occupy the No. 1 and No. 2 spots of the most downloaded iPhone music apps.

Meanwhile Tidal is undergoing a bit of a shakeup since its sale to Jay Z was finalized. CEO Andy Chen recently left the company and a number of other employees were rumored to be hitting the road as well.

In a statement, Tidal announced that Peter Tonstad, a former CEO of Tidal’s parent company Aspiro Group, would take the helm. Tonstad “has a better understanding of the industry and a clear vision for how the company is looking to change the status quo. He’s streamlining resources to ensure talent is maximized to enhance the customer experience,” the company wrote. “We’ve eliminated a handful of positions and refocused our company-wide talent to address departments that need support and cut redundancies.

“Tidal’s offices globally will remain and grow: we are already hiring for several new positions now. We’re excited about our future and what’s in-store for fans who want the best listening experience,” the statement said.

Perhaps for Tidal, giving fans part of the best listening experience also includes personal phone calls.

Jay Z has recently been dialing up fans who use the site to thank them, Tidal exec Vania Schlogel told Business Insider. “He called some of his fans and one of them made the funniest comment,” Schlogel said. “He said ‘This is the best customer service call I’ve ever received!’”