Tidal class-action


MQA declared bankruptcy.  I smell the fear of a class action lawsuit against Tidal.  We could do that.  Tidal has 8 million subscribers, we don't know how many or how long they all were paying double by subscribing to the 'nobody can prove Tidal has any tracks higher than 44.1khz' plan.  They probably have lots of people on phones who haven't even heard of MQA who trust them and wanted the one that sounds better.  They're right not to have to listen to any talk about MQA if they want the plan that sounds better.

MQA means you can't prove the file is an original copy or not. That Beethoven track you like it says is 192 could actually be Dua Lipa at 11khz.

The bankruptcy move was probably to protect themselves from Tidal, who is the receiver of people's funds.

 

audioisnobiggie

Not a lawyer, but to me, the more likely outcome (if there is a false claim shown in the MQA pitch about the existence of master files) would be for the Fed Gov to levy a fine and prohibit use of the offending claim in advertisements. More an issue of future-facing consumer protection than financial damage to any subscriber.

MQA is in Administration. Individuals declare bankruptcy - not companies. In the UK administration provides a period of protection from creditors seeking to have a company wound up, while the administrator makes decisions on the future of the company.

I don’t know enough about the MQA technology to opine on it, but I know that I paid for the top tier to get access to hi-res MQA files.  If the MQA file is merely an upscaled Redbook file, it is false advertising.  It is that simple.

Boy am I glad I never delved into streaming and at 74 probably will not. I got back into vinyl during the pandemic and am really enjoying looking for some of my favorite albums used.