Problem with Tidal Masters

[Kulfon]

Folks, I have moved from Spotify to Tidal because of lossless. I started noticing that files marked as “Masters” (lossless) are greyed out in my playlist. Chicane is the artist I listen the most and today it almost doesn’t have files marked as Masters.

I have contacted the support and was given a generic answer. Any idea what is going on?

———From Tidal————

We understand your curiosity regarding why this particular song is not available in Master quality. Unfortunately, the label requested the removal of this song in the Master version which can be for a variety of reasons, and it is beyond TIDAL's control.

If you wish for this song to be available in Master through TIDAL again, we advise that you fill out our Music form so our Content team can look into your request.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

If you are that bothered it sounds like you need to ask the label - I can't see how (or why) anyone else would know.

 

[npxavar]

Non-Master files have been grayed out in my playlists too. It is possible that Tidal didn't renew the royalty contract.

 

[Al ears]

Non-Master files have been grayed out in my playlists too. It is possible that Tidal didn't renew the royalty contract.

If they did that I doubt the song would be available at all..

 

[Kulfon]

I am trying to understand what that practically means:
1. Artist (Chicane in my case) decided not to be present in Tidal for some reason?
2. Competitors (of Tidal) luring artists to their service?

 

[npxavar]

In my 4 years experience with Tidal, tracks that have been grayed out have become available again.

A number of things can contribute to that. One can only speculate.

 

[Kulfon]

But that is weird, no? Reason I moved to Tidal is lossless. So if this is never a given, maybe Tidal is not the solution.

Lets see what Spotify does with lossless if they finally launch it.

Btw, whqt bit rate is losless? i see that in Tidal things are marked M with 88

 

[WayneKerr]

This is one of the reasons why streaming will never be my main source of music. I'll get my coat

 

[npxavar]

Btw, whqt bit rate is losless? i see that in Tidal things are marked M with 88

The lossless bitrate is the original one. The 88 is not a bit rate it refers to the sampling frequency, ie 88.2KHz, which is twice that of CDs. Master originals have a higher resolution.

The bitrate for CDs is 1411kbps.

 

[Kulfon]

Is Apple good when it comes to lossless? Reason I am asking is that I finally want to ensure I have top quality streaming for the artists I like

 

[manicm]

I for one cannot wait for Spotify to launch the Hifi tier, depending on the price.

 

[twinkletoes]

Is Apple good when it comes to lossless? Reason I am asking is that I finally want to ensure I have top quality streaming for the artists I like

It's the reason i don't like streaming, labels can ask to remove music whenever they like. You wake up one morning and most of your save music could be gone, happened to me with Qobuz.

Apple though seems a little more immune to it, for obvious reasons.
Apple Music has it own problems though. To get bit-perfect playback you have to use an iPhone or and iPad. Their computers dont have native auto switching of the midi settings you have to manually change them THOUGH there is now some software from third parties that counter this, something else to pay for and will depend on how handy you are with a computer.

No streamer on the market can stream apple music apart Fiio r7 which can aslo stream Apple music at the fullest bit rates. They get around it by using an Android phone operating system. Affordable but still a sizable investment for most hif enthusiasts and yet another box. It's still not a "connect" service like Tidal or Spotify and requires you to navigate the app on the unit, not your phone/smart device.

You also have to remember even to day a lot of music still isn't released in "hi-res" but at least with apple you dont pay a premium for the right to stream those said formats. You can bundle in other services such as apple tv+. No other service really offers this.

Pic your poison they all have gotcha's.

 

[Gray]

I could well be wrong, but my guess is that somebody wants to reduce the desirability of permanent copying.

 

[Kulfon]

Those who know Apple music, how to tell which track in lossless? There is no marking that I can see

 

[Kulfon]

Thank you for the answer.

Would anyone know if I can play Apple lossless via Node?