download the new version for windows YT Downloader Pro 9.1.5

If Tidal kept its MQA catalog intact, and if it could negotiate a new licensing deal with MQA (yep, the format and the company that owns it share the same name) whereby only streams of MQA tracks trigger a licensing fee, and if it gave Hi-Fi Plus members the ability to choose which format they want, Tidal could become the best streaming choice for all audiophiles.

Without Tidal’s MQA streaming catalog, options for accessing MQA are few and far between. A lot of music fans have spent money to acquire MQA-compatible hardware because they believe in the format. And yet, doing it in this way - with a scorched earth approach - feels clumsy. It’s clear that Tidal is trying to slowly divest itself of the MQA format, which carries licensing fees, in favor of the essentially royalty-free FLAC format. When Tidal initially added FLAC, it only displayed MAX. When that happens, music fans will have one less reason to keep paying Tidal Hi-Fi Plus’ monthly fee of $20 - almost double what Apple Music and Amazon Music charge for their nearly identical catalogs and format support. It may take a while, but there will come a time when the entire Max collection will be exclusively available in FLAC. Tidal’s new policy is that when it adds a 24-bit FLAC version of a given track, that song will no longer be available to stream in MQA. There’s still no way to filter by format (or even make one your preferred format), and there’s no way to know the format of a track or album until you hit play it.Įventually, these concerns will become mostly academic. With the new labeling practice, the visibility problem has been partially addressed - you can now see the format - but you still can’t see the bit-depth or sampling rate. Long Way by Eddie Vedder in MQA format on Tidal.īad Guy by Billie Eilish in FLAC format on Tidal.

Download the new version for windows YT Downloader Pro 9.1.5