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. We see millions of entrepreneurs, artists, musicians in the world who are underserved.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). “That could be more about creating new markets like Square did in the early days, we were serving customers that were largely underserved and created a market. “We’re especially interested in creating new adjacent opportunities in service of the whole artist experience and their experience with their fans in addition to the streaming service,” Dorogusker said.
In an interview with Billboard after the acquisition was announced last month, Dorogusker said that while the core streaming service would remain an important part of Tidal, Square wants to expand Tidal to fully serve artists across the board. He previously lead the development of the ubiquitous Square Reader and lead the team that launched Apple’s lightning connector during his time at the tech company.
Square will soon begin its search for a permanent head of Tidal, but Dorogusker should provide a stable hand to lead the streaming service forward. Square Is Acquiring a Majority Stake in Tidal for $297M
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