Neil Young Working on Pono Hi-Fi Streaming Service

It appears Jay Z’s Tidal service will have competition in the streaming market
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Looks like Jay Z’s Tidal may soon have competition in the world of high-fidelity streaming. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Neil Young has revealed that his music company Pono is planning on launching a new hi-fi music streaming service, to be offered in addition to its PonoPlayer device and high-quality file download store. “We're pushing towards getting a presence in phones,” Young said. He explained that Pono is currently working with a tech company from Singapore “maintain our quality level when we go to streaming.”

Young has a complicated history with streaming services. In 2015, he took down most of his catalog from Spotify and Apple Music, calling their sound quality the “worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution” and saying, “when the quality is back, I’ll give it another look.” This past May, his music appeared on Tidal, and then in November, Young’s entire catalog returned to Spotify and Apple Music.

Read our Sunday Review of Tonight’s the Night, and check out “Listening to Neil Young’s Live Archives” on the Pitch.