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Stars Launch Jay Z's Music Streaming Service

Rapper Jay Z has officially launched his new music streaming service, named Tidal, with the help of some of the biggest names in entertainment.

Madonna, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye West and Alicia Keys are among the A-list celebrities who co-own Jay Z's new venture.

Tidal is being billed as the first artist-owned platform for music and video.

It hopes to address musicians' concerns that they are losing out financially in an age of music downloads and booming streaming services.

Speaking at the launch event in New York, Keys said Tidal aims to "forever change the course of music history".

The co-owners - who also include Daft Punk and Jack White - lined up on stage to sign a declaration of a "whole new era".

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"Our mission goes beyond commerce, it goes beyond technology. Our intent is to preserve music's importance in our lives," Keys said.

"Music is the language of love, of laughter, of heartbreak, of mystery. It's the world's true, true, without question, universal language."

Tidal is likely to face tough competition from existing streaming services like Spotify. Both Spotify and Tidal are membership-based services.

For $19.99 (£13.50) a month, subscribers are able to access to millions of songs and videos which users can stream or listen to offline.

A second $9.99 (£6.75) option offers regular sound quality.

Tidal is available in 35 countries around the world.

But Sky's Technology Correspondent Tom Cheshire does not believe Tidal will appeal to the mass market .

"It is not about those listening to the music - it is about those making it. Specifically, those already making a lot of money from it," he says.