Prince Is Playing A Freddie Gray Benefit Show In Baltimore And Jay Z's Tidal Is Streaming It For Free

Tidal may not have as many subscribers as its streaming music rivals Spotify and Rdio, but it's got one thing those services don't: A live concert from funk legend Prince.

The music subsciption service announced on Friday that it will stream the audio from a 60-minute live concert taking place at Baltimore's Royal Farms Arena on Sunday. The show will include the debut of a new protest song called "Baltimore" that Prince wrote in response to 25-year old Freddie Gray's death and the subsequent civil unrest it sparked.

You can stream the concert even if you don't have a Tidal subscription. However, Tidal is collecting donations on its website which it plans to give to various Baltimore charities.

Tidal might be in trouble in a crowded and competitive market. A recent report indicated that its parent company, Aspiro, doesn't have enough money to survive for the next 12 months. If the Jay Z backed service is to succeed, it needs to provide something that Spotify and Rdio can't. Considering Tidal's big-name celebrity backing, exclusive content and concerts might be the ticket to a larger subscriber base.

After the Prince concert, Tidal will exclusively stream a Jay Z concert on May 16, where the rapper will play rarely-performed songs from his back catalog. Unlike Prince's gig, though, you'll need to be a Tidal subscriber to listen in.