JAY-Z has sold a majority of his ownership stake in TIDAL to Square, Inc.
On Thursday (Mar. 4), the press release reveals the hip hop mogul is expecting $297 million in a mix of cash and stock from the mobile payments company for his stake in the streaming music service.
TIDAL will now operate independently within Square, alongside the Seller and Cash App ecosystems. The releases reports “The acquisition extends Square’s purpose of economic empowerment to musicians. Artists are entrepreneurs with a dream and deserve access to systems, tools, and financial freedom to reach those dreams at every stage in their career. Square sees an opportunity to leverage those learnings to help musicians find new ways to support their work and make better decisions through TIDAL.”
“It comes down to one simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work,” said Jack Dorsey, cofounder and CEO of Square. “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.”
Celebrating the new partnership, JAY has shared a new playlist titled “March 4” on TIDAL and returned to Twitter and added, “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. Artists deserve better tools to assist them in their creative journey. Jack and I have had many discussions about TIDAL’s endless possibilities that have made me even more inspired about its future. This shared vision makes me even more excited to join the Square board. This partnership will be a game-changer for many. I look forward to all this new chapter has to offer!”
In March of 2015, Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter acquired TIDAL from Swedish company Aspiro for $56 million. With subscribers in over 56 countries, TIDAL acquired 3 million paying customers by the following year.
Last week, JAY sold 50% of his Armand de Brignac ownership to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed amount.
