Tidal updates terms without explanation or opportunity to decline

In May 2025, Tidal.com prompted users to accept their updated terms. The differences are not explained & the entire TIDAL application is blocked until the user accepts the new terms, constituting an example of coerced post-purchase EULA modification. Coupled with the need for users to follow a complex opt-out process for certain terms, this has lead to Tidal being accused of adopting a consumer-unfreindly posture with this TOS change^{[citation needed]}.

Background

According to the wayback machine, the previous terms were effective from January 1st 2024.

https://web.archive.org/web/20240501074048/https://tidal.com/terms

With the new terms effective from April 10, 2025.

https://web.archive.org/web/20250501082456/https://tidal.com/terms

Forcing acceptance without clear explanation

When opening the Tidal app after the terms update, users encountered a screen requiring acceptance of the new terms with no option to continue using the service under the previous agreement. This is an example of modern consumer abuse where a company leverages a user's pre-existing investment into a platform(subscriptions, saved playlists, data, etc) to force acceptance of new terms without providing simple alternatives.

Difficult arbitration opt-out process

While the terms do include an arbitration provision opt-out mechanism, Tidal created a huge barrier to exercising this right:

1. Users must physically mail a completed form to Block, Inc. within 30 days of accepting the terms.
2. The form must be sent to their Oakland, California address regardless of where the user is located
3. No digital opt-out option is provided despite Tidal being a digital service

According to Section 14(g) of the updated terms:

"You may reject this Arbitration Provision, in which case only a court may be used to resolve any Dispute. To reject this provision, you must send us an opt-out notice (the 'Opt Out') within thirty (30) days after you create a TIDAL account or we first provide you with the right to reject this provision."

The Opt-Out notice must be mailed to: Block, Inc., Attn: TIDAL Arbitration Provision, 1955 Broadway, Suite 600, Oakland, CA 94612.

Differences in terms

Using diff -u for the page contents as a text file:

Changed effective date

• Old: "Effective as of January 1, 2024 ("Effective Date")"
• New: "Effective as of April 10, 2025 ("Effective Date")"

Changed territorial application

• Old: "These terms and conditions ("Terms") govern your use of and access to TIDAL's content and streaming services, and associated websites and applications outside of Canada, the European Union ("EU"), European Economic Area ("EEA"), and United Kingdom (the "TIDAL Service")."
• New: "These terms and conditions ("Terms") govern your use of and access to TIDAL's content and streaming services, and associated websites and applications in the United Kingdom, European Union ("EU") and European Economic Area ("EEA") except Germany (the "TIDAL Service")."

Changed company definition

• Old: ""TIDAL" (or "we", "us", and/or "our") means (a) TIDAL Music LLC if you reside in the United States, (b) Tidal Serviços de Entretenimento Ltda. if you reside in Brazil, or (c) Tidal Music AS if you reside elsewhere other than Canada, the EU, the EEA, and the United Kingdom. If you reside in Canada, the EU, the EEA, or the UK, please see the Tidal Terms and Conditions of Use specific to your location (Canada; Germany; UK, EU and EEA except Germany)."
• New: ""TIDAL" (or "we", "us", and/or "our") means Tidal Music AS, the corporate entity that operates the TIDAL Service in the United Kingdom, EU and EEA except Germany. If you reside in Canada, Germany, and elsewhere, please see the Tidal Terms and Conditions of Use specific to your location (Canada; Germany; rest of world except Canada, the United Kingdom, EU and EEA except Germany)."

Changed profile name requirements

• Old: "You may not select a Profile name or identifier that (a) misleads or deceives others as to your personal identity; (b) clearly consists of the name of a company, group, product or brand that you don't have permission to use; or (c) violates our Content Guidelines (as described below)."
• New: "You may not select a Profile name or identifier that (a) misleads or deceives others as to your personal identity; (b) clearly consists of the name of a person, company, group, product or brand that you don't have permission to use; or (c) violates our Content Guidelines (as described below)."

Eliminated free subscription references

• Old: "(a) Subscriptions. TIDAL offers various subscription options, some of which are free ("Free Subscription") and others which charge a fee ("Paid Subscription") (collectively, "Subscriptions). Some Subscriptions may start with a free or discounted trial period ("Trial Period")..."
• New: "Subscriptions. TIDAL offers various subscription options, for which you will be charged a fee (each, a "Subscription", and collectively, "Subscriptions). Some Subscriptions may start with a free or discounted trial period ("Trial Period")..."

Changed payment method language

• Old: "(c) Payment Methods. To sign up for a Paid Subscription (including if preceded by a Trial Period), you must provide a current, valid, accepted method of payment, which may change from time to time ("Payment Method"). Paid Subscription purchases may be subject to additional terms..."
• New: "(c) Payment Methods. To sign up for a Subscription (including if preceded by a Trial Period), you must provide a current, valid, accepted method of payment, which may change from time to time ("Payment Method"). Subscription purchases may be subject to additional terms..."

Changed consumer rights

• Old: "(g) Right of Regret. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you are a consumer in Brazil, you have the right to withdraw from your Subscription within seven (7) days of signing up, for any reason, provided you have not commenced use of the TIDAL Service during that time. Your right of regret is lost once the 7-day period expires."
• New: "(g) Right of Withdrawal. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you are a consumer in the European Union (EU), the European Economic area (EEA) and the United Kingdom have the right to withdraw from your Subscription within fourteen (14) days of signing up, for any reason, provided you have not commenced use of the TIDAL Service during that time. Your right of withdrawal is lost once the 14-day period expires."

Added tax liability language

New text added: "Additionally, you are responsible and liable for identifying and calculating any and all Taxes required to be assessed, incurred, collected, paid or withheld for your use of TIDAL. Unless otherwise expressly stated, you also are responsible and liable for (a) determining whether Taxes apply to your sale of products and services, payments received, and/or any other transactions arising from or out of your use of TIDAL, and (b) registering with Tax authorities in jurisdictions where you are required to do so by applicable law, and (c) calculating, collecting, reporting, paying, and/or remitting any such applicable Taxes to the appropriate Tax and revenue authority. TIDAL specifically disclaims any liability for such Taxes and you agree to fully indemnify, defend, and hold TIDAL harmless against any such Taxes and any other related expenses or costs."

Added AI content rights

New text added: "By using any of the Generative AI or AI-powered products, features, and tools ("AI Products") offered by TIDAL, you are responsible for all content associated with your use of AI Products. You agree that you will not use any AI Product to create any content that is harmful, misleading, or violates the rights of any third party. You are responsible for any text you type or images, content, or data you upload into AI Products ("Input"), as well as any text, images, or content generated by AI Products through your use of AI Products or through prompts you provide to AI Products ("Output", collectively together with Input, "AI Content"). You are also responsible for ensuring that any AI Content complies with all applicable laws, regulations, and terms before generating, using, or sharing it. You agree that you will not include any sensitive personal data of any individual (including data that reveals racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, health data or data concerning anyone's sex life or sexual orientation) in any Input to AI Products. TIDAL reserves the right to suspend, terminate, or otherwise modify your access to AI Products or other Services as determined in our sole discretion if we identify any such misuse. As between you and TIDAL, to the extent permitted by law and subject to these Terms, you own your AI Content. You grant us and our subsidiaries, affiliates, and successors a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully-paid, transferable, irrevocable, perpetual, and sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, prepare derivative works of, distribute, publicly perform, and publicly display your AI Content throughout the world in any media for any reason, including to provide, promote, and/or incorporate into the AI Products. You retain all rights in your Inputs and Outputs, subject to the rights you granted to us in these Terms."

Added DJ tools information

New text added: "You may access third-party DJ products made available through the TIDAL Service ("DJ Tools") if you have a Subscription to the DJ Extension. The use of the TIDAL Service with DJ Tools is for personal, non-commercial use only. Not all TIDAL Content is made available for use with the DJ Tools, and TIDAL is not responsible for any such TIDAL Content unavailability."

Added uploads feature information

New text added: "TIDAL Uploads feature allows those with a Subscription to upload ("Uploaders") finished or unfinished original musical recordings, music or otherwise, and underlying compositions ("Tracks") to the TIDAL platform to which Uploaders must have all necessary rights to share through a link with a person ("Receiver"), as contemplated in these Terms. We may limit the number of Tracks you can upload and/or the number of times you can share a Track. Tracks composed of covers of original works, to which you do not have the rights, are strictly prohibited. When a Track is uploaded, the Uploader may upload an image or artwork to coincide with that Track. If you do not upload an image or artwork with a Track, the image or art may be AI generated. The AI generated image or artwork is not copyrightable and TIDAL cannot guarantee that it is not substantially similar to other art in existence. No royalties or other monies will be payable to any Track contributors when Receivers play Tracks. You are responsible for any payments owed to Track contributors or other third parties for use of a Track. Tracks shall be considered Listener Content (as defined below) under these Terms. In order to use the Uploads feature, you will need to create a TIDAL account with a Profile and designate a Profile name and/or username. Your artist name may be the same as your Profile name. To use Uploads, you must be 18 years of age or over and not require any third party's permission to share and release music, e.g., being signed to an exclusive recording and/or publishing deal. Uploaders may manage the Track's limited, basic data, i.e., Track title, track image, and artist name ("Metadata"). Your uploads, including your image and/or artwork, must, at all times adhere to TIDAL's Content Guidelines. TIDAL reserves the right to terminate or suspend your ability to upload and to remove uploaded content if we determine, in our sole discretion, that an upload is in violation of these Terms and/or the Content Guidelines."

Changed third party applications

• Old: "The TIDAL Service may utilize or interact with certain third party applications, websites, platforms, devices and services ("Third Party Applications")."
• New: "The TIDAL Service may utilize or interact with certain third party applications, websites, platforms, devices and services, including DJ Tools and use of TIDAL Uploads ("Third Party Applications")."

Changed copyright notice procedure

• Old: "Send your notice to TIDAL Copyright Department, 799 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10003, or by email to [email protected]."
• New: "To file your notice to TIDAL, go to TIDAL Support on our website and go to "Submit a Request" under "Still Need Help?" at the bottom of the page. This will lead you to our content request form. Choose "I want to report a copyright/DMCA or trademark violation" from the initial list of options and input all of the required information."

Changed account termination options

• Old: "You may terminate this Agreement at any time by canceling your Subscription or deleting your TIDAL account by contacting [email protected], in which case you may not continue accessing or using the TIDAL Service."
• New: "You may terminate this Agreement at any time by canceling your Subscription or deleting your TIDAL account by contacting [email protected], deleting your TIDAL account from your mobile settings, or by visiting account.tidal.com/profile; in all such cases, you may not continue accessing or using the TIDAL Service."

Removed California residents notice

The entire section 11 "Notice to California Residents" was removed: "Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1789.3, California residents are entitled to the following specific consumer rights notice which is hereby offered as a convenience to you:

The name and address of the provider to California residents of the TIDAL Service is TIDAL Music LLC, TIDAL – Customer Support, 799 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10003. Complaints regarding the service or requests to receive further information regarding use of this service may be sent to the above address or by email to [email protected].

The Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs may be contacted in writing at 1625 North Market Boulevard, Suite S202, Sacramento, CA 95834 or by telephone at (916) 574-7950 or (800) 952-5210."

Changed section numbers

Due to the removal of the California Residents section, all subsequent section numbers were decreased by one.

Added EU dispute resolution process

New text added: "(i) If you reside in the European Union ("EU"): In accordance with our Content Guidelines, we may make decisions which affect you about (i) whether or not to remove or disable access to or restrict visibility of information; (ii) whether or not to suspend or terminate our provision of the TIDAL Service, in whole or in part, to you; and/or (iii) whether or not to suspend or terminate the your account. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 14, if you disagree with any such decision, you are entitled to select any out-of-court dispute settlement body certified by the Digital Services Coordinator in the relevant EU member state to resolve a dispute relating to any such decision. TIDAL will engage with the selected certified out-of-court dispute settlement body with a view to resolving the dispute in accordance with the Digital Services Act. You should be aware that TIDAL is not bound by any decision made by a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body. You also have the option to pursue your claim in accordance with the terms of this Section 14."