Tidal Reacts To Stems Removal Backlash From DJs

Tidal has spoken publicly for the first time about the removal of stems functionality in DJ software when streaming music from its service.

In a statement on X, Tidal says that it believes other streaming service providers have also been asked to do this, and that it is working to get stems re-introduced.

The full statement reads:

“Sharing an update for our DJ community: We’ve heard and seen your feedback. Major rights holders have instructed us to restrict access to stem separation of their music. Our understanding is that other music services have also received similar directives.

“We love and appreciate that DJs have often chosen TIDAL for our exceptional sound quality and integration with DJ tools. We’re collaborating with the major labels to bring this back in a way that serves DJs, artists, and rights holders. Stick with us as we work to resolve this.”

Our Thoughts

This is not Tidal’s “fault”, although the company may have reacted faster to this than others, hence being the only company that has withdrawn this feature as of now. It is coming from the record companies, whose lawyers and conservative powers probably hate how easily DJs can extract acapellas and mess with finished tracks in this way, in ever-increasing quality.

Go here next: Where DJs Get Acapellas

The cat is out of the bag though, as the record companies surely know – it is not hard to extract acapellas ahead of time from music, after all. We always advise our students not to rely on streaming services – they are by nature ephemeral. Use streamed tracks in addition to a well-curated, owned local library – not as a replacement for one.