

Jay-Z and Dorsey have become chummy over the years, and last summer were seen together aboard a yacht in the Hamptons.

“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,” Dorsey said in a statement. He added that he and Dorsey “have had many discussions about Tidal’s endless possibilities that have made me even more inspired about its future.”Īccording to Dorsey, who is CEO of both Square and Twitter, the deal “comes down to one simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work.” Artists deserve better tools to assist them in their creative journey.” Jay-Z tweeted about the pact Thursday, “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. One of Tidal’s differentiators has been its high-fidelity audio offering Spotify plans to launch its own hi-fi tier later in 2021.


Tidal, which hasn’t disclosed subscriber numbers, has managed to hang on in the streaming game amid competition from huge rivals like Apple Music and Spotify. Other Tidal artist-owners include Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Kanye West, Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. In late 2019, Jay-Z released his music on Spotify.ĭorogusker said Square was less interested in Tidal’s streaming market share than its potential to bring together the common ideals of Jay-Z and Dorsey, who have become close in recent years.In 2015, Jay-Z led a consortium of artists in a $56 million deal to acquire Norwegian streaming company Aspiro. Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv reported Tidal had overstated its subscriber count and had been falsifying streaming data, charges the company denied. and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube, all of which have larger customer bases. But the service struggled to keep up with competing services from Spotify, Apple Inc., Inc. Tidal got an initial boost from exclusive access to new music from Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Rihanna, among others. They announced their vision for the service at a New York City media event where Alicia Keys declared that this moment would change music history. The rapper recruited more than a dozen of the biggest artists in the world, including Rihanna, Kanye West and Calvin Harris, as co-owners. For instance, Spotify Technology has built a multibillion-dollar business using music created by millions of artists, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet.īut Jay-Z didn’t align himself with any paupers. Musicians have long complained about record labels exploiting them, and that frustration hasn’t abated as they’ve transitioned to having relationships with streaming services. Square will pay 297 million in a mix of cash and stock to become Tidal’s significant majority owner, though Jay-Z and Tidal. Jay-Z acquired Tidal for $56 million in 2015 and announced plans to turn it into the first artist-owned streaming service. Square has agreed to buy a majority stake in Tidal, the streaming music service led by rapper Jay-Z, as part of an effort to expand the company’s suite of financial tools to musicians and emerging artists. Earlier this year, it was announced that Carter and Dorsey joined forces to create an endowment. “Artists sell tickets, they sell special experiences,” he said. When Square announced the deal in March, it said it expected to pay 297 million in a mix of cash and stock for an undisclosed majority ownership stake in Tidal, which Jay-Z and a group of other. Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey could continue their bitcoin partnership and create a Tidal-Square blockchain. I said from the beginning that TIDAL was about more than just streaming music, and six years later, it has remained a. Some obvious examples would include helping musicians run their merchandise businesses. Jay-Z’s initial investment in Tidal was 56 million back in 2015. “There was a real opportunity at this intersection of music and art and the economy that was uniquely made for the pair of us,” Dorogusker said. It’s not immediately clear how Square will help Tidal build its business, but there is a lot of overlap between the music industry and Square’s existing market, which includes payments and commerce, said Jesse Dorogusker, the Square executive who will serve as interim leader of Tidal inside its new parent company.
