Speed Reading — Level 6 — 200 wpm 

This is the text (if you need help).

Rapper Jay Z has restarted a music subscription site to provide a new kind of streaming service. Jay Z has bought and re-launched the service called Tidal, which was initially launched last October. Many of the music industry's major stars have also added their weight to the project and have become co-owners in it. These include Beyonce, Kanye West and Madonna. They hope Tidal will rival more established streaming sites such as Spotify and Google Play. Tidal does not have as large a catalogue of songs as its rivals, but the owners hope people will use it because it is the first streaming platform owned by musicians. Tidal will offer its 25 million tracks for a standard subscription of $9.99 a month.

The artists behind Tidal hope it will change the music industry and give singers and musicians more control over their music. Artists traditionally have little control over how their work is distributed and marketed. Jay Z told the music magazine Billboard that he hoped artists would get more money because of Tidal. He said: "We didn't like the direction music was going in and thought maybe we could get in and strike an honest blow." Jay Z will encourage artists to persuade their record labels to give Tidal new music a week before other services get it. This will give Tidal a head start in making the music available. Singer and co-owner Alicia Keys said Tidal "will forever change the course of music history".

Back to the Jay Z lesson.

More Activities