Beyoncé's new album Lemonade is the latest Tidal exclusive [Update: now on iTunes]
Spotify and others miss out
Update 2: Beyoncé's Lemonade is now available to buy as a digital download on iTunes and Amazon. The tracks can be bought individually, but if you want the video you'll have to buy the album as a whole.
Update: Media reports suggest Lemonade will be available to download through iTunes in the next few hours, although Tidal will remain the only streaming service carrying the album.
Our original story continues below.
If you want to emerge triumphant from the streaming music wars then exclusives might be your best strategy – and they don't come much bigger than Beyoncé's Lemonade. The new album was launched in the US on Saturday night, and is only available on Tidal.
No real surprise there: Beyoncé is a co-founder of the service, and married to Mr Tidal himself, Jay Z – but it's another snub to the likes of Spotify, Deezer and the streaming services offered by Apple and Google.
The whole point of paying a monthly subscription fee is that you can get all the music you want, and having to sign up for two (or three) services is a lot less appealing. If you're a Tidal subscriber, head here to listen to the new tracks.
Tidal power
The 10-track album features appearances from Jack White, The Weeknd, James Blake and Kendrick Lamar. It's Beyoncé's first long-player since her self-titled release in 2013, which was also released with little preceding fanfare and was an iTunes exclusive.
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As yet you can't buy Lemonade anywhere; Tidal is the only way to listen to it. Whether the site will also make the album available to download, or whether it will eventually appear on iTunes and similar download services, isn't clear at the moment.
Kanye West recently attracted the ire of fans after launching his The Life Of Pablo album as a Tidal exclusive, only to have it appear on Apple Music, Spotify and other services a few weeks later. Beyoncé is more invested in Tidal, and so is unlikely to pull the same trick, but it's yet another factor to consider when choosing a streaming service.
Here are three great music apps for iOS:
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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