Phoebe Bridgers Brings $1 Madison Square Garden Show to Tidal

By Grace Kim

Tidal released Phoebe Bridgers’ five-track Live at Madison Square Garden EP as an exclusive download after sponsoring her $1, phone-free show at the “World’s Most Famous Arena” in June.

According to Tidal, the EP (an extended play, or short collection of recorded tracks) preserves five songs associated with Lost Weekend that Bridgers performed before the release of her new album. The set includes “Lost Boys,” previously issued as a single (a standalone song release), and an extended version of the title track, “Long Lost Weekend.”

Tidal’s release announcement calls the EP the latest step in the service’s partnership with Bridgers and says non-Tidal users can also download it. It does not specify how that access differs from the stated Tidal exclusivity, leaving the route outside the service unclear.

Tidal sponsored the arena concert, whose tickets cost $1. Tidal’s account says cellphones were barred from capturing the show, so fans can revisit the phone-free event even if they could not attend or record it themselves.

“Phoebe Bridgers’ Madison Square Garden show was an intimate and defining phone-free live moment, and we’re proud to help share it with even more fans in a way that supports artist ownership and fan connection,” Tidal Lead Robert Andersen said in a statement. His wording identifies two audiences for the release: attendees and fans reached afterward.

Andersen added: “This release represents a new era for Tidal: helping artists sell exclusive work and merch directly to their fans, with 0% platform fee beyond card processing.” The direct-to-fan model means artist sales through a platform rather than a conventional store; Tidal states no platform fee beyond card processing for it.

His statement puts Tidal in two roles at once: sponsor of the concert and exclusive platform for its recording. Andersen mentioned merchandise, although the release announcement lists no merchandise for this EP and publishes no download price.

What does the release change for fans?

It converts a one-night Madison Square Garden performance into a downloadable five-track document. The practical change is economic as well as archival: Tidal says the direct-to-fan route carries a 0% platform fee beyond card processing.

The announcement gives no per-download revenue figure, royalty rate or card-processing charge. For fans, the 0% platform fee removes Tidal’s stated platform cut; it does not reveal the final checkout price or card-processing charge.

The five-track archive

The set pairs the song released as the single “Lost Boys” with an extended version of “Long Lost Weekend.” The complete running order is:

• Lost Boys (Live at MSG)
• Kill Me (Live at MSG)
• I Can’t Wait (Live at MSG)
• Other Plans (Live at MSG)
• Long Lost Weekend (Live at MSG)

Bridgers’ announced North American itinerary closes with three sold-out dates at Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, including a Halloween show. Those dates conclude the North American leg of The Lost Tour this weekend.

Next month, she begins the European leg, which ends December 12 at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The timing places the release between the tour’s North American and European legs.

For Tidal, the next measure is whether other artists will use the same direct-sales route for exclusive recordings and merchandise, as Andersen proposed. The EP tests that model with the five-track archive of a $1-ticket concert.