In March 2015, a little-known boutique music streaming service became the most talked about thing in the music press. Jay Z’s acquisition and relaunch of Tidal was met with ambivalence at best, ridicule at worst. Yet beyond the uproar, Tidal provides clues about how people like their music.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And with the music industry in flux, that's exactly what Beyoncé has done. Visual albumLemonadedebuted on HBO, before being released exclusively on Tidal, seeing sign-ups surge accordingly. Is this what the future of the album launch looks like?

Paris-based music streaming service Deezer launched in the US in September 2014. Its premium service Elite – priced at $19.99 – offers a premium challenge to Spotify. Now it’s offering another service for $6 to tackle the low-end market, too.

Discovering new music was once a preserve of A&R scouts at major labels. But with unsigned acts now playing to anyone with an internet connection, how can music fans be sure of who was there first? A new Spotify feature is quantifying ‘cool’, giving music geeks the bragging rights they deserve.