Uh oh! There might be one less streaming service on the block as Jay Z, 46, is reportedly negotiating to sell Tidal to Apple Music for an undisclosed sum. The lure of getting ahold of such top artists as Rihanna, 28, Kanye West, 38, Madonna, 57, and Beyonce, 34 is a pretty powerful draw for the Silicon Valley powerhouse to add to its musical roster. Keep reading for more on how the deal may go down.
Jay is looking to offload Tidal and Apple is eyeballing their impressive talent roster in a series of early discussions according to the Wall Street Journal, which notes that the talks are ongoing and may not lead to anything. Jay reportedly made an earlier attempt to sell the service to Napster, formerly known as Rhapsody, but that deal didn’t go anywhere either.
Jay sunk $56 million into acquiring the company in 2015 and went on to sign many of his closest friends to exclusive deals in which they would get profit participation. Tidal had Kanye’s The Life of Pablo exclusively for six weeks and Bey’s Lemonade was only available there before it later went on to Spotify. Tidal is the only streaming service that has the rights to the late Prince‘s music, which makes it all the more valuable with the singer’s sudden passing in April.
Tidal’s acquisition would make for a less competitive music streaming field, and Apple Music could acquire its four million users to add to their own 15 million subscribers, who pay $9.99 a month to use its services. In comparison, Spotify has 30 million subscribers and around 70 million people who use its free service.
Are you a Tidal subscriber? Do you think Jay should sell the company?
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