Ever since Tidal launched in the U.S., there have been rumors about who would eventually acquire the music streaming service. There were reports of companies like Samsung and Apple being possible purchasers. Now, we don’t have to guess any longer.
On Monday, Jay Z announced that Sprint has acquired 33% of Tidal as part of a partnership that will give the telecom carrier’s customers access to the app’s exclusive music content.
“Sprint shares our view of revolutionizing the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential,” Jigga said in a statement announcing the deal.
The deal includes a $75 million a year marketing fund that will be used to obtain and promote exclusive content from artists. The fund can go to production, marketing, concerts, or a number of other uses to get content in front of users.
With the deal, Sprint Chief Executive Marcelo Claure will sit on the Tidal board. Sprint shares are up 211% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the S&P 500 Index SPX, -0.47% which is up 19%.
“Jay Z and the artist-owners will continue to run Tidal’s artist-centric service,” Sprint said in a statement.
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