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Neil Young’s insistence that hardcore music fans would be willing to pay extra for a high-definition digital music experience looks less outmoded in 2020 than it did in 2015, now that Amazon has put an HD-quality up-sell at the center of its multi-tiered music streaming offering. With half a decade in the rearview mirror since Pono’s arrival, however, there may be another, more valuable take on its creator to consider. ArsTechnica called the $400 PonoPlayer: “A tall, refreshing drink of snake oil.” The Washington Post one-upped that for cruelty, asking: “Has Neil Young finally managed to make something worse than Trans ?”
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Pono effectively shut down in 2016, out of cash and getting it in the neck from critics. By summer 2015, reports suggested the venture was running out of money at one point, Young even asked a pre-presidential Donald Trump for financial help. “Somehow things shifted we went into the background and have to come forward.” “They’re the carrier - we’re the artists,” grumbled Madonna.
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A chorus of superstars began echoing a different narrative: that Tidal could help them wrest back control from the likes of Spotify. Unfortunately for Tidal, Harris’ clarion message - that of higher-quality audio, for higher-quality music fans - soon became muddled by others central to the same campaign. These were the words of superstar DJ/producer Calvin Harris, introducing the full-length launch trailer for the Jay-Z-founded, artist-owned streaming platform in March 2015. The story of Tidal could - and maybe should - have been very different. You tell people what they’re getting, and they’re going to hear the difference.” I try to make music to the highest quality, and that’s why this stood out. And we’re listening to it on this platform where it’s compressed.
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“It’s 2015, we’re making music to the highest level it sounds more amazing than ever before, in my opinion.
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