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tidal

3 mins read

Jay-Z Sells Majority Stake of Streaming Service, Tidal, to Mobile Payment Company, Square For $297 Million

Square, the mobile payments company led by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, announced today that it plans to acquire a “significant majority” of Tidal, the streaming music service owned by Jay-Z and other artists.

Square will pay $297 million in stock and cash for the stake in Tidal and Jay-Z will join Square’s board while retaining a smaller stake in the music streaming company.

“I said from the beginning that Tidal was about more than just streaming music, and six years later, it has remained a platform that supports artists at every point in their careers,” said Jay-Z in a press statement. “Artists deserve better tools to assist them in their creative journey. Jack and I have had many discussions about Tidal’s endless possibilities that have made me even more inspired about its future. This shared vision makes me even more excited to join the Square board. This partnership will be a game-changer for many. I look forward to all this new chapter has to offer!”

In a thread on Twitter, Dorsey tweeted, “Why would a music streaming company and a financial services company join forces?!” To find “new ways for artists to support their work.”

“Given what Square has been able to do for sellers of all sizes and individuals through Cash App, we believe we can now work for artists to see the same success for them, and us,” tweeted Dorsey. “Square created ecosystems of tools for sellers & individuals, and we’ll do the same for artists. We’ll work on entirely new listening experiences to bring fans closer together, simple integrations for merch sales, modern collaboration tools, and new complementary revenue streams.”

Tidal, which Jay-Z bought in partnership with other artists in 2015 for $56 million, provides members access to music, music videos, and exclusive content from artists, but the streaming music industry has been dominated by competitors like Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.

In 2017, Jay-Z sold 33 percent of the company to Sprint for an undisclosed amount. (After a merger, Sprint is now a part of T-Mobile.) Earlier this week, Jay-Z bought back the shares from T-Mobile, and most will be sold to Square as part of the deal.

Tony O. Lawson


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1 min read

Jay Z sells 33% of Tidal Streaming Service to Sprint

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.

 

-Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson