Everyone is talking about Lemonade, Beyoncé‘s new visual album that immediately became a sensation when it debuted on HBO on Saturday night. For those who missed it (and those without a loved one’s HBO Go password), Lemonade even reran just before the Game of Thrones’ highly anticipated season six premiere on April 24.
Beyoncé‘s Lemonade is on iTunes and Amazon — but will only stream on Tidal and Pandora
Beyoncé
Caroline Framke wrote about culture, which usually means television. Also seen @ The A.V. Club, The Atlantic, Complex, Flavorwire, NPR, the fridge to get more seltzer.
And then, as quickly as it came, Lemonade was gone — from HBO, anyway.
:(
The album and accompanying film are still available on Tidal, Jay Z’s streaming music platform (which Beyoncé also has stakes in as a part owner, lest we forget). There’s no official word on why Lemonade is not available to stream via HBO Go or HBO Now, but it’s a pretty safe bet that Beyoncé and Tidal only agreed to make it an HBO “event” for a limited amount of time, the better to boost Tidal’s air of exclusivity.
As of April 25, Lemonade’s music and accompanying film are now up for sale on iTunes and Amazon, despite initial reports that the only place to get it would be Tidal. Amazon even has a preorder option available for a CD/DVD set, which will include the visual album. And despite Tidal spokespeople insisting at first that Tidal’s streaming exclusivity would remain the case “in perpetuity,” Pandora announced on April 27 that it would be streaming Lemonade’s audio tracks.
Currently, however, there is no way to stream the visual album online without a Tidal subscription.
Circumstances can change, of course — Rihanna’s Anti eventually went up on Spotify despite an initial Tidal exclusivity period — but for now, Tidal is the only place to stream the full audio and visual experience.
For those who have held out on purchasing a Tidal subscription in spite of its recent Kanye and Rihanna exclusives, Beyoncé‘s Lemonade might prove to be the hardest test yet. But no one should be surprised that Tidal’s keeping a tight grip on new Beyoncé. It’s new Beyoncé. Everybody wants it, and in the words of Bey herself, she works for the money, from the start to the finish — and she’s worth every dollar.
Where to buy Lemonade:
iTunes, Tidal, Amazon
Where to stream Lemonade:
Tidal, Pandora (audio only)
Updated to reflect Pandora now streaming Lemonade.
