So another contender has entered the music-streaming service market and it goes by the name of TIDAL. The service, which is coming off the back of previous streaming service WiMP, offers a seriously impressive catalogue of over 25 million songs and access to 75 thousand HD music videos but it’s USP is that it streams all the audio tracks in glorious FLAC or CD quality with no compression. The service works on Chrome, has a downloadable web player, Android app (which works very well and looks the part too) and also and iOS app.

Still not sure if it’s for you? They have created a clever little ‘test’ site that lets you play 5 tracks, asks you to guess which one is being played in ‘high fidelity’ or HIFI and if you guess right, you’ll get a 14 day free trail as opposed to the average 7 day one. The service, for all of its premium offerings, also comes at a premium price, it’s €19.99/month after your free trial period but a week should be more than enough to help you decide if it’s the right streaming service for you.

Right now, we’re just getting to grips with the service but we’re really liking what we hear so far. Be sure to check back for our full review in the near future. You can find the full press release below:

TIDAL High Fidelity Music Streaming Service Launches in

Republic of Ireland Today

Oslo, Norway – January 22, 2015 – TIDAL, the first High Fidelity lossless music streaming service with HD music videos and Curated Editorial, today announced the launch and availability of its service in Ireland. The ideal music service for those who care about quality, TIDAL welcomes new users to enjoy its extensive library of 25 million-plus tracks, 75,000 music videos, and curated editorial articles, features and interviews written by experts. Ad free and available now for a monthly subscription of €19.99, visit www.tidalhifi.com or download the app from iTunes App Store or the Google Play Store.

“Ireland, as the rest of the world, is seeing a strong increase in music streaming subscriptions, as well as a high interest for high quality audio,” said TIDAL CEO Andy Chen. ”With TIDAL on mobile, computers or home audio products from the likes of Sonos, Denon, Bluesound and Linn, it’s now time to finally enjoy a true high fidelity service with lossless sound quality, HD music videos and curated editorial. We have already seen substantial interest from music lovers in Ireland signing up to our waiting list so we are delighted to be able to launch the service there today.”

TIDAL has spent considerable time building up its extensive catalogue of lossless HiFi-quality music and HD music videos. With distribution agreements signed with all of the major labels and many independents, TIDAL offers a comprehensive catalogue that includes a wide range of genres to suit all musical tastes.

Available across iOS, Android, network players, and PC/Macs, TIDAL offers high fidelity, lossless sound quality, a prerequisite to enjoying music the way it was intended by the artists.  Streaming at more than four times the bit rate of competitive services, users are able to enjoy TIDAL on a wide range of the world’s finest home and portable audio products. Partnership and integration agreements have already been made with 35 of the world’s most respected audio brands, see complete list below.

As an advertisement-free, lossless, CD-quality music and music video streaming service with extensive curated editorial expertise, TIDAL is available now in US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg for a monthly subscription of 19.99. To experience high fidelity streaming, visit the TIDAL website at www.tidalhifi.com.

Notes to Editors

TIDAL music streaming experience at a glance:

• More than 25 million music tracks
• Lossless quality (FLAC/ALAC 44.1kHz / 16 bit – 1411 kbps)
• More than 75,000 music videos
• Curated Editorial provided by experienced music journalists and industry experts
• Dedicated apps available for iOS and Android phones and tablets
• Web player for PC/MAC
• Anthem, Airable by Tune In Media, Astell &Kern, Audeze, Audiovector, AudioQuest, Auralic, Aurender, Bel Canto, Bluesound & NAD, Dan D’Agostino, Definitive Technology, Denon HEOS, DTS Play-Fi, Dynaudio, Electrocompaniet, Harman Omni, HiFiAkademie, ickStream, JH Audio, Linn, McIntosh, Meridian, MartinLogan, Paradigm, Polk, Pro-ject, PS Audio, Raumfeld, Simple Audio, Sonos, Steinway Lyngdorf, Wadia, Wren Sound Systems with more to come.
• See www.tidalhifi.com/download for live integrations.
• Available in US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Follow Tidal at http://facebook.com/tidalhifi and http://twitter.com/tidalhifi

TIDAL and WiMP HiFi are music streaming services owned by Aspiro Group, listed on the Nasdaq OMX in Stockholm, with HQ located in Oslo, Norway. The service was launched in 2010 and is also available in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Poland.

About Aspiro

Aspiro is a media technology company on the forefront in the ongoing redefinition of music consumption. Through its subscription services TIDAL and WiMP, the company offers a complete music experience with HiFi quality audio, Curated Editorial, and video. In parallel, Aspiro is a content provider to the online media industry through RADR, helping its partners to attract and retain visitors on their web sites. Read more on www.aspiro.com