Sprint has agreed to buy a 33 percent stake in the music streaming service Tidal. As part of the deal, Tidal and its artists will make exclusive content for Sprint customers. No financial details of the deal were disclosed. The trade journal Music Business Worldwide reported that the purchase price was around USD 200 million.
US rapper Jay Z and the artist-owners of Tidal will continue to run Tidal’s service, while Sprint’s CEO Marcelo Claure will join Tidal’s board of directors. Sprint and Tidal will also create a dedicated marketing fund specifically for artists. The fund will allow artists the flexibility to create and share their work with and for their fans.
The partnership follows Tidal’s recent unveiling of 'Master' quality recordings, as it continues to focus on the high end of the streaming market. Tidal is available in more than 52 countries, offering over 42.5 million songs and 140,000 videos. In March 2016, Tidal had 3 million customers.
First launched by the Swedish company Aspiro, Tidal was acquired by a company backed by rapper Jay-Z in 2015 and relaunched in 2015 in more markets. In the summer of 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was in talks to acquire Tidal in order to bolster its Apple Music service.
