![]() ![]() The influx of cash did not stop Tidal from falling behind on paying its bills, with the streaming service failing to pay rights holders on time in 2018. According to The New York Times, Jay-Z bought out T-Mobile’s stake and most of those shares will be sold to Square in the acquisition. Tidal quickly stopped reporting subscriber numbers publicly, with the service reportedly hovering around 3 million paying subscribers in 2018, compared to Spotify’s 20 million subscribers at the time.ĭespite the issues, Tidal was given a lifeline by Sprint (now merged with T-Mobile), when the telecom giant invested $200 million into the streaming service for a 33% stake, valuing the company at $600 million. ![]() Since its rocky launch at which a handful of the world’s richest artists stood on stage and said they were underpaid for their music - garnering an immediate public backlash - the company has faced a range of challenges, from being sued over claims of false advertising around exclusive releases to a $3 million dispute between the service and artist shareholder Kanye West, who terminated his exclusivity deal with Tidal in 2017. The sale is a coup for Jay-Z, who relaunched the streaming service six years ago after buying Tidal’s Swedish parent company Aspiro for $56 million in 2015. With Square’s Tidal Acquisition, New Interim Head Says, 'We’re Not Trying to Win The… I knew Tidal was something special as soon as I experienced it, and it will continue to be the best home for music, musicians, and culture.” “New ideas are found at intersections, and we believe there’s a compelling one between music and the economy. “It comes down to one simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work,” Jack Dorsey, Square co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. ![]() ![]() Tidal will operate independently within Square, the company says, and the acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Jay-Z will join Square’s board of directors, and Square’s hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker will serve as the interim head of Tidal upon the closing of the deal. Square will pay $297 million in a mix of cash and stock for a majority stake in the company, allowing the artist stakeholders who initially partnered with Jay-Z and Tidal to keep ownership stakes as well. Jesse Dorogusker, the Square executive stepping in to lead Tidal, told the Times Dorsey and Jay-Z began discussing the deal “a few months ago.” Which, of course, lines up with that late-August Hamptons hangout.Financial services giant Square is acquiring a majority stake in Tidal, the music streaming service led by Jay-Z, the companies announced Thursday (March 4). Jay-Z previously sold a third of the company to Sprint in 2017 he bought back the shares he sold from T-Mobile, which now owns Sprint, last week, per the New York Times. Jay-Z bought Tidal in 2015, touting the service as artist-owned alongside other musicians including Rihanna, Kanye West, and his wife, Beyoncé. And he tweeted it all alongside a Tidal playlist from Jay-Z, “celebrating artists and the entrepreneurial spirit,” featuring songs like Drake’s “Started From the Bottom,” Puff Daddy’s “Victory,” and Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me.” “We’re going to start small and focus on the most critical needs of artists and growing their fanbases.” Dorsey also said Jay-Z’s new spot on the board will touch the entire company, not just Tidal. QN90di6zWD- TIDAL March 4, 2021ĭorsey tweeted that the deal began from “a simple idea: finding 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,” he added in another tweet. Our mission to empower artists continues. “This shared vision makes me even more excited to join the Square board.” In a series of tweets, Jay-Z called the deal “a game-changer for many.” “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,” he wrote. (Hopefully he can get time off for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.) “Square and TIDAL will continue to empower artists and create a more sustainable, collaborative, and beneficial music industry,” the companies said in a statement announcing the deal. Square purchased the streaming service for $297 million, and Tidal co-owner Jay-Z will now sit on Square’s board. Tidal, Jay-Z’s exclusive streaming service, has been sold to Square, the point-of-sale services company cofounded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Well at least this explains that Hamptons boat trip. Photo-Illustration: Vulture and Getty Images Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey, from friends to business partners. ![]()
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