Jack Dorsey’s Square acquires $297 million stake in Tidal
Financial services company, Square, is acquiring a majority stake in Tidal, the music streaming service led by American rap royalty Jay-Z, the companies announced on Thursday.
The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.
“It comes down to one simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work,” Jack Dorsey, Square co-founder and CEO, said on Twitter, “New ideas are found at intersections, and we believe there’s a compelling one between music and the economy. 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.”
Square will pay $297 million in cash and stock for a stake in the company. The deal will allow artist stakeholders originally partnered with Jay-Z and Tidal to keep their ownership stakes.
Jay-Z will be joining Square’s board of directors, and Jesse Dorogusker, Square’s hardware lead will serve as the interim head of Tidal upon the closing of the deal.
The music streaming platform will operate independently within Square.
Jay-Z, relaunched Tidal after buying its parent company Aspiro for $56 million in 2015. The company has faced several legal battles, from suits of false advertising around exclusive releases to the $3 million dispute between the service and Kanye West, who terminated his deal with Tidal in 2017.
In 2017, Sprint invested $200 million into tidal for a 33 percent stake in the company, with Tidal being valued at $600 million.
Tidal app claims that the service is used by more than 3 million subscribers, though a report from a newspaper in Norway, Dagens Naerinsliv, accused the company of wildly inflating that number as recently as 2017.
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