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credits July 10, 2019
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Share the spotlight: TIDAL’s interactive credits could transform the industry

“As producers and songwriters, we are always the last people to have light shed on us in the process of a song. The fact that TIDAL is highlighting us is amazing and a step forward for producers and songwriters to be recognized for their hard work.” — Boi-1da

We’ve read, heard and researched countless behind the scenes contributors to our favorite songs. But isn’t it easier to know who did what on a track? Why does it take a feature article on the unsung heroes of ghostwriting to give props to prolific songwriters?

The people over at TIDAL asked that same question and transformed the way you listen to music once again. With a new Interactive Credits feature, you can instantly check who’s on that beat, who wrote those bars, who composed and who adlibbed.

For something that seems like a given, credit is rarely truly given for those that aren’t the face of the music you listen to. Tidal has taken us back to the original way of learning about who worked on an album, except we don’t have to read the back of a CD.

Producer, rapper, singer, songwriter Timbaland weighed in on the new technology. He said:

“I think it’s very important that all the behind-the-scenes creators get credit for their work. What they bring to the table is just as important, and the DSPs need to do a better job of highlighting them. It’s well deserved.”

Tony Gervino, TIDAL SVP, Culture & Content said,

“As a music streaming service and culture hub, it is important to acknowledge that music is a team sport – it takes a talented crew of sound engineers, lyricists, and band members to make a song stick. We recognize the challenges ahead in creating a thorough and extensive catalog, but we are excited to take this important step.”

This new feature specifically helps the contributors that have limited ways of showing their resume of work.

It validates their craft and introduces them to a whole new possible fanbase. It makes the music industry less insider based, and gives more opportunity to those that keep that machine well oiled.

The credits feature works like this:

First, you navigate to any given artist then tap the roles under their name. That takes you to a credits page. There you can specify what kind of credits the artist has that you want to see.

It’s broken down into different categories from musician and songwriter to producer and more. Each option will pull up all the relevant tracks and projects that the artist has contributed to in that role.

 

Young Guru responded to the new interactive credits feature with high praise.

Along with Young Guru, rapper Russ also shed some light on how important it is to cast a light on each person involved in the music-making process.

“The artist oftentimes is just the product selling someone else’s genius. It’s super important to shed light on each role because, without them, the song doesn’t exist.”

Even Hit-Boy knows that it’s obvious creatives aren’t “appreciated enough in the world.” For him, any step towards the unsung artists having their names out there for the intellectual property, heart, mind, and soul that it takes to actually come up with these musical pieces is A1 in his book.

Now that TIDAL is leading the industry on giving credit where credit is due, how will its competitors respond?