As of this month, Tidal is now majority-owned by Jack Dorsey’s Square. The acquisition was settled over the last few days of April for an amount much greater than previously expected ($297 million). According to TMZ, the music streaming company was acquired for $350 million and gave Dorsey 80% stake in the company.
While some have questioned its effectiveness, Jay-Z’s original vision for Tidal when he acquired it was to help artists find new ways to make money. Thus far, its main features have been collecting money from music fans and distributing it to music rights holders. Its high-quality audio has also been a big selling point, if not the biggest.
However, the number of people interested has been low. Recently, these features are also no longer unique to Tidal, with Amazon and Spotify now offering them too. The music service has also failed to be as uplifting for artists as planned. Many have felt that the company has fallen short in that respect and has instead benefited the very industry suppressing them.
Square seeks to change all of this. Jesse Dorogusker, the Square executive now in charge of Tidal, explained that “We see musicians as entrepreneurs who have some tools but not others. They don’t have great financial systems.”
According to him, the goal moving forward is to help musicians sell merchandise, tickets and special experiences using key data. He went on to explain that most artists simply do not have the resources they need to handle financial needs. This is where Square’s vision and acquisition of Tidal comes in.
“Artists need cash flow management tools,” says music industry expert Matt Pincus. “There’s a lot of money flows going everywhere. The square guys are in a good position to capture that.”
The two parties have shared that, following the acquisition, Tidal’s artist co-owners would include: Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire, Beyoncé, Calvin Harris, Chris Martin, Daft Punk, Damian Marley, deadmau5, J. Cole, Jack White, Jason Aldean, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, T.I. and Usher.
The companies also confirmed that both Jay-z and Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez are expected to stay on the Tidal board following the purchase.
Author Bio: Michael Hollis is a Detroit native who has helped hundreds of business owners with their square merchant account solutions. He’s experimented with various occupations: computer programming, dog-training, accounting… But his favorite is the one he’s now doing — providing business funding for hard-working business owners across the country.