Tidal Introduces New Tools to Help Artists Track Royalties and Manage Songwriting Credits

Music streaming service Tidal has unveiled a new suite of tools aimed at helping artists gain better control over their royalties and songwriting credits. With the complexity of music royalties being a persistent challenge in the industry, Tidal's new features aim to simplify the process for artists, songwriters, and other collaborators.

In the U.S., music royalties are split among multiple parties involved in creating a track—composers, performers, and producers—each of whom must be registered with a Performing Rights Organization (PRO) and have an Interested Party Information (IPI) number to ensure they receive royalties. The process, however, is notoriously intricate, with different royalties collected for mechanical reproduction (like CDs, downloads, and streaming) and public performances (like airplay and live performances).

Tidal’s new dashboard allows artists with an existing PRO and IPI number to claim their profiles, view their catalog, and track their royalties directly. The platform displays important data such as IPI numbers, PRO affiliations, and publisher details, along with an overview of the artist’s recordings that are correctly credited and those that are missing information. This system even flags tracks that might belong to the artist but aren’t properly attributed, offering the chance to correct errors.

For emerging artists without a PRO or IPI number, Tidal offers a partnership with AllTrack, a digital PRO that monitors where tracks are used on streaming platforms, radio, TV, and in public venues. Additionally, artists can opt to join the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which collects and distributes mechanical royalties for digital streams and downloads within the U.S.

A significant feature of Tidal’s new toolkit is the ability to check the metadata of tracks and albums to ensure that royalty splits are accurate. Artists can propose changes if the information doesn’t reflect the proper distribution of royalties, offering greater transparency and control over how revenue is split among collaborators.

Tidal’s global head of product, Agustina Sacerdote, highlighted the need for these updates, noting that current tools available to artists are often outdated or overly complex. "If you want to be a truly artist-first company, you have to recognize that the main artist is often the public face, but there’s an entire ecosystem of collaborators behind every track. Songwriters are critical to the process, and the tools for them have been stuck in the past. We wanted to change that,” Sacerdote said in an interview with TechCrunch.

While Tidal is leading this effort, other startups are entering the space to address the same issues. Companies like Mogul and Mozaic are building platforms to help artists track unclaimed royalties and streamline the process of splitting them among collaborators. Despite the competition, Tidal’s focus remains clear: creating artist-centric tools that offer transparency and ease of use.

Owned by Block, Tidal has been positioning itself as a platform that prioritizes artists over consumers, unlike competitors like Spotify, which have branched out into social features and consumer-facing products. In 2023, Tidal launched its “Collabs” feature, which connects artists with potential collaborators for music projects or live performances. The company has hinted at further developments, including new ways for artists to engage with fans and faster payment options through Cash App, another product of Block.

As the music industry continues to evolve, Tidal’s latest features represent a significant step forward in helping artists take control of their earnings and their contributions.