Back in 2018, Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv reported that the company was faking the numbers for several of its biggest albums. Tidal’s subscriber numbers are a mystery, leading many to believe that it’s trailing behind Spotify and Apple Music. (Amazon has an equivalent service called Amazon Music HD, though.) It’s not clear if the occasional exclusive and higher-quality streaming is enough, though. Users can pay for a HiFi plan which unlocks streaming options - HiFi and Masters (2304-9216 Kbps) - that are higher quality than anything offered by Apple and Spotify. Even Jay-Z’s once-exclusive discography is now available on other streaming streaming services. Kanye is no longer wedded to Tidal, for instance. Many of these deals have petered out, though. The company has tried to stand out with high-profile exclusives, such as Rhianna’s 2016 album ANTI and The Carters’ Everything is Love. It launched in 2014 and then relaunched under Jay-Z’s stewardship with a number of celebrity backers including Daft Punk, Jack White and Kanye West. Tidal is a direct competitor to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music Unlimited. The outlet is reporting that Square, the payments company run by Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, has discussed a potential acquisition with Jay-Z, the rapper and entrepreneur who bought Tidal in early 2015.īloomberg cites an unnamed source and has emphasized that a deal isn’t guaranteed. That group also includes stars like Rihanna, Madonna and Alicia Keys.Could a Tidal buyout be in the offing? Maybe, according to Bloomberg. Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, will keep a Tidal stake as part of a group of artist-owners that will constitute the service’s second-largest shareholder, according to Dorsey. The service has been dragged down by weak subscriber numbers - thought to be between 1 and 5 million, paltry compared to Spotify’s 345 million active users - and high turnover in its executive suite. The deal looks like a coup for Jay-Z, who had been seeking buyers for Tidal as early as 2017, as The Post previously reported. “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,” he said. The Cash App owner plans to help Tidal musicians grow their businesses and fanbases by building collaboration tools, making it easier to sell merchandise and creating “entirely new listening experiences,” Dorsey said. “Jack is one of the greatest minds of our times, and our many discussions about TIDAL’s endless possibilities have made me even more inspired about its future,” Jay-Z said of his new partner on Twitter, which Dorsey also leads as CEO.īut Square investors appeared unconvinced - the company’s stock price slid 1.7 percent on the news to $231.21 shortly after Thursday’s opening bell.ĭorsey contends that Square can help Tidal fulfill its mission of supporting the artists behind the more than 70 million songs available to stream on its platform, which has struggled to compete with larger rivals such as Spotify and Apple Music. The pair was spotted lounging on a yacht in the Hamptons with Jay-Z’s superstar wife Beyoncé in August before news leaked in December that they were discussing a Square-Tidal tie-up. The announcement came after Dorsey and Jay-Z dropped several hints that they were cooking something up. Jay-Z will also join Square’s board of directors once the deal closes in the second quarter of this year, the company said Thursday. The Jack Dorsey-led financial services firm will pay $297 million in cash and stock for a “significant majority ownership stake” in Tidal, which the Brooklyn-born rapper acquired for $56 million in 2015. Square has reached a deal with Jay-Z to take control of Tidal in an attempt to rejuvenate the struggling music streamer. Jay-Z returns to Spotify on his 50th birthday Rapper Jay Electronica releases debut album ‘A Written Testimony’ Square reportedly interested in buying Tidal from Jay-Z ‘C-Note’ leases – north of $100 per square foot – are enriching Manhattan
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