It’s been a difficult few weeks for the music streaming service TIDAL. Just two weeks after reports of layoffs at the platform, its parent company Block has announced it will be “scaling back” investment in the streaming service.
In a public letter to shareholders, Block – which also owns popular brands like Square and Cash App – said it plans to focus resources on its cryptocurrency ventures, including a bitcoin wallet and mining initiative. This comes after an internal email from Block CEO Jack Dorsey revealed that TIDAL would need to “part ways with a number of folks and start operating like a startup again,” as reported by Music Radar yesterday.
Dorsey’s message indicated that the platform would be making significant staffing cuts, including eliminating entire departments like product management and product marketing. The size of the design team and “foundational roles” will also be reduced, and engineering roles may face further cuts in the coming weeks.
While the exact number of job losses remains unclear, sources at The Verge suggest it could be around 100 employees – roughly a quarter of TIDAL’s remaining workforce. This follows an initial wave of redundancies last December, when over 10% of TIDAL’s staff lost their jobs.
“We will consider reducing engineering over the next few weeks as we have more clarity around leadership going forward,” Dorsey wrote in his email to employees.
A Tidal spokesperson, speaking to Fortune, simply confirmed “the elimination of some roles across our business and design teams.” But the leaked internal communications from Block’s leadership paint a much bleaker picture for the music platform’s long-term viability.
The news seems to crush any remaining hopes that TIDAL could one day challenge industry giants like Spotify and become a true artist-friendly, high-quality alternative in the streaming landscape. With its parent company shifting focus and slashing staff, TIDAL’s future prospects appear uncertain at best.
