American rapper, Jay-Z has sold a majority stake in Tidal to Jack Dorsey’s company, Square for a whooping sum of $297 million in cash and stock.
Tidal will remain a separate part of Square, while Jay-Z will join Square’s board. Existing artist shareholders in the Tidal business will remain stakeholders.
“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,” Jay-Z tweeted.
In his own tweets, Dorsey wrote: “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.”
The Twitter CEO elaborated in a Twitter thread, adding: “Given what Square has been able to do for sellers of all sizes and individuals through Cash App, we believe we can now work for artists to see the same success for them, and us. We’re going to start small and focus on the most critical needs of artists and growing their fanbases.”
The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year.
