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Tidal lost huge sums of money fighting streaming rivals
If you guessed that it would be expensive for a small streaming service like Tidal to compete with heavyweights like Apple and Spotify, especially through exclusives... you guessed correctly. Tidal's parent company, Aspiro, has reported a $28 million loss for 2015, the year Jay-Z bought it. That's more than twice the $10.4 million loss it chalked up in 2014. While the Wall Street Journal understands that this doesn't include all US financial data (it's not a "complete picture"), it's not exactly flattering. That's particularly true when Tidal didn't have a guaranteed source of funding going into 2016.
Jay Z's bid to buy a Spotify competitor is back on (update: done!)
You might be expecting a riff on one of Jay Z's lyrics to preface the news that stockholders have apparently approved Hova's bid for music-streaming outfit Aspiro. Sorry, it's not happening; instead, the excellent photo above will just have to suffice. Anyhow, with today's looming deadline to make a decision, Swedish news outlet E24 reports that Aspiro's minority shareholders have decided it was best to accept the 464 million Krona (roughly $56 million) bid from S. Carter Enterprises' "Project Panther." Next up? Most likely, an official announcement from both parties and then something from a governing trade body saying that the sale's been approved. If you need something to do until then, you could always dig an old Samsung phone out of the drawer, fire up the Magna Carta app and remind yourself of Jay's last streaming move. Update (3/13): Jay Z's Project Panther Bidco announced today that it acquired enough shares to take over Aspiro. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Jay Z might not get his own Spotify rival after all
Jay Z's purchase of Tidal, the streaming service with better audio quality than rivals like Spotify, is not a fait accompli after all. Over 10 percent of investors in Swedish owner Aspiro have rejected the bid, enough to block the sale. The minority shareholders association said that so far, Jay Z hasn't responded by either acquiring a smaller share, raising his bid or withdrawing it altogether, adding that "the motive for the bidder's passivity is shrouded in mystery." The group rejected the $56 million offer despite the fact that it would have netted them a 59 percent gain at the time of the offer. Perhaps they figure they can do better, but if more investors withdraw support by the March 11th deadline, the whole thing could be null and void.
Jay Z is buying Spotify rival Tidal for $56 million
So this is something. The Scandinavian press is buzzing right now with the news that Jay Z is buying the Norwegian company behind the high-quality music streaming service Tidal. The rapper and entrepreneur made a 464 million Krona (roughly $56 million) bid which the company's reviewing board has already reviewed. It's recommending all its shareholders accept the offer.
Tidal brings pristine streaming music to nearly every device you own
You can already check out Deezer Elite if you want high-quality streaming music, but it's only available on Sonos devices. That's not very useful when you're away from home, is it? Thankfully, Aspiro has stepped in to fill that void with a far more accessible service, Tidal. The offering brings lossless internet tunes to Android, iOS, the web and seemingly every networked media player on the planet; the company has deals to support gear from 34 home audio companies, including Sonos and Denon. Tidal also has a few incentives to come back besides new albums, including articles, music videos and a Shazam-style song recognition feature. You can give Tidal a spin today, but be prepared to cough up some cash for that no-compromise sound. It costs $20 per month in the US (£20 in the UK), or about twice as much as many run-of-the-mill services.
