In the words of music streaming service Tidal’s owner: It’s about to go down. Jay Z is going to give a live performance in New York City this May, exclusively for Tidal members, and the set will be made up of songs he’s either never performed before or has not done so for a decade. The event marks his first live performance since purchasing Tidal parent company Aspiro in March.
For Tidal members to be in with a chance of winning two tickets to Tidal X: Jay Z B-Sides they have to create, name and share a Tidal playlist of songs using the #TIDALXJAYZ hashtag on Twitter. There’s a strict limit of one playlist for each person, and it’ll be judged on the diversity of artists it contains, the genres is spans, and perhaps hardest to master of all, the sequencing. If you’re a Tidal subscriber, you can enter from today and the contest ends on May 8 at 11:59pm EST.
The songs performed will be determined by Jay Z himself and with 15 studio albums to his name, plus many unreleased tracks, the promise of never-before-performed songs will have fans excited. It’s not the first time Jay Z’s looked to the past in a live appearance. Last July, he showed up during Jay Electronica’s performance at the 2014 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, where he performed his “Young, Black & Gifted” freestyle from the S. Carter Collection mixtape released in 2003.
This will be the third Tidal X performance held by the burgeoning streaming service, with Jack White and J. Cole holding Tidal X shows on April 26 and 27, respectively. Tidal’s Chief Operating Officer Vania Schlogel informed DigitalTrends the Tidal X performances are not a limited promotional campaign and will be held regularly. Tidal hasn’t had the easiest time since Jay Z took over, following a controversial launch event, and has been criticized by other musicians. Exclusive Tidal X concerts are just one of the initiatives designed to attract new members to the new streaming service.
If you can’t make the concert, then don’t worry, Tidal X: Jay Z B-Sides will be live streamed on Tidal.com. It’s all set to take place on May 13, 2015, although the location has not been disclosed. The only clue being offered is that it’ll be an “intimate New York City venue.” In the meantime, make sure you check the full list of rules for the competition here: http://tidal.com/tidalxjayz.
