Regardless of what you think of Apple Music as a service, there’s no question that the family share plan is an incredible value. For just $5 more than the standard monthly price, you can add up to five additional members to your subscription, each with their own personal libraries, playlists and recommendations.
Tidal apparently took notice, as the oft-maligned platform is planning to implement its own family share plan. Unfortunately (but perhaps unsurprisingly), Jay Z and co. managed to miss the point of the family plan entirely.
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Rather than giving users the option to upgrade to a family plan with a flat rate, Tidal will charge users for every new friend or family member than joins the account, The Verge reports.
Here’s how it works: Tidal Premium members pay $9.99 a month up front and $4.99 for each additional member. Tidal High Fidelity members pay $19.99 a month and a whopping $9.99 for every new person that joins the account. Plus, Tidal only allows five members on the same account, as opposed to Apple Music’s six.
So let’s compare Tidal High Fidelity pricing to that of Apple Music. For six people to use the same Apple Music account, the total cost is $14.99 a month. For five people to use the same Tidal High Fidelity account, the account owner is going to pay nearly $60. That’s not what I would call a good deal.
With all the criticism that Tidal has received over the past few months, it’s hard to believe that the company is still failing to get a read on the public reaction to its competition. But the family plan is proof positive that Tidal isn’t paying attention.
