The Roc Nation rapper has sold a 'significant' stake in his music streaming platform to the company owned by the social media boss through a multi-million-dollar deal.
- Mar 5, 2021
AceShowbiz - Jay-Z is set to join the board of Jack Dorsey's Square payments company after selling a "significant" majority stake in his music streaming platform Tidal to the tech mogul and his associates.
Through the deal, which is worth an estimated $297 million (£212.4 million), Square bosses hope to extend the organisation's "purpose of economic empowerment" to musicians, and help establish new revenue streams by selling directly to fans to secure "financial freedom."
Jay-Z relaunched Norwegian streaming platform Aspiro as Tidal in 2015 after joining forces with fellow artist-owners like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, and Kanye West to acquire the brand as part of a $56 million (£40 million) agreement.
Announcing the new partnership in a statement shared on Twitter, the rap icon wrote, "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."
He went on to reveal he and Dorsey, who is also CEO of Twitter, "have had many discussions about Tidal's endless possibilities that have made me even more inspired about its future."
Dorsey added, "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."
It's the latest business partnership between Jay, real name Shawn Carter, and Dorsey - they also recently teamed up to donate $24 million (£17.2 million) to fund bitcoin development in African and Indian countries.
