Mobile payment company Square, Inc. is acquiring a majority ownership stake in JAY-Z’s music streaming service TIDAL. Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, who also founded Square, announced the deal in a tweet on Thursday.
“Why would a music streaming company and a financial services company join forces?!” Dorsey wrote. “It comes down to a simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work. Making the economy work for artists is similar to what Square has done for sellers.”
JAY-Z tweeted for the first time since 2018, calling the collaboration a “game-changer for many.”
“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,” he continued. “Artists deserve better tools to assist them in their creative journey. Jack is one of the greatest minds of our times, and our many discussions about TIDAL’s endless possibilities have made me even more inspired about its future.”
Square says it expects to pay a mix of cash and stock of $297 million USD for the majority ownership stake in the streaming service, which will operate independently alongside other Square services like Cash App and Seller. The company says it aims to extend economic empowerment to musicians. Furthermore, JAY-Z will join Square’s board of directors.
JAY-Z bought TIDAL in 2015 for $56 million USD, which boasts certain content from top-tier artists exclusive to the site. The global music service offers a catalog of over 70 million songs and 250,000 videos and is co-owned by several artists including Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Daft Punk, Kanye West and Rihanna.
The rap mogul has also been busy making deals with other industry leaders. In February, LVMH acquired 50 percent of JAY-Z’s Armand de Brignac champagne brand in a deal valued at roughly $630 million USD by Forbes.
JAY-Z is closing out this tiring year with his specially-curated playlist, aptly entitled 2020 Vision COVID-19.
The 40-track offering arrives with a cover art that features tennis superstar Naomi Osaka sporting a face mask with the name of the late George Floyd. The 2020 Vision COVID-19 playlist itself includes cuts from Jay Electronica, Hov’s wife Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, Drake, the Griselda crew and Freddie Gibbs to name a few.
Earlier this 2020, JAY-Z also curated the playlists Couple Songs From 2020 (So Far)and and Songs for Survival 2. The latter’s 2016 predecessor paid tribute to Alton Sterling and Philando Castile — two Black men who also died at the hands of police — and its 2020 edition was released shortly after Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin.
Stream JAY-Z’s 2020 Vision COVID-19 playlist exclusively on TIDAL.
In case you missed it, JAY-Z officially tied Quincy Jones’ record for most Grammy nominations at 80 apiece.
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