Kanye West The Life of Pablo on Tidal: How to sign up and listen for free, without getting a subscription

West has said that the album will be Tidal exclusive, and never even released for download — but there’s still a way of listening without subscribing

(2016 Getty Images)

Kanye West’s new album, The Life of Pablo, is being streamed exclusively on Tidal. But that doesn’t mean you’ve got to hand over your money to Jay-Z’s streaming service to listen to it.

The company offers a free trial — and one that is relatively easy to sign up for and then leave.

Signing up for Tidal’s 30 day free period is relatively easy. You can just head to Tidal’s “Try Now” page, click whether you want the normal sound quality or the lossless one, and click to start your trial.

You’ll then be given 30 days of free access, as if you were a paying subscriber.

Making sure you don’t get charged at the end of it is slightly more complicated. Straight away — to save forgetting — you should head to the Tidal site, click onto the menu and select manage account, and then choose “Cancel My Subscription” from the menu.

It’ll make you fill out a survey first, but then your cancellation will be confirmed and completed.

The same process can be followed if you’ve already gone beyond your trial period.

Once all that is done, you’ll keep your subscription for the full 30 days of the trial period. You can sign back up again and pay if you want it to last longer.

Some users signing up for the subscription might see a $2 charge end up on the bill. Tidal makes clear that it isn’t from the company itself and will be given back.

“It is the banking system validating your card and the sum will be refunded. Reservations like this are common when using a new card as a way of the banking system checking your card is active.”

This same charge appears to have been added to the accounts of some people who bought the album through Tidal, before it was pulled down.