Square Is Reportedly Interested in Purchasing Tidal Streaming Service From Jay-Z

According to Bloomberg News, Square, the company that operates Cash App and Square Seller, is interested in acquiring Tidal from Jay-Z.

December 24, 2020

tidal square — BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 16: In this photo illustration the logo of the music streaming service Tidal ( TIDALHiFi ) is displayed on a smartphone on January 16, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
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Square, the American financial services company that operates Cash App and Square Seller, is interested in acquiring Tidal from Jay-Z, Bloomberg News reports a source as saying.

Though there aren't many details about the potential deal, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who is also the CEO of Square, is reportedly looking to diversify and has held talks about buying the company. It's unclear how far the talks have progressed and if Jay-Z is even willing to sell the company. News of Sqaure's interest in Tidal comes on the heels of Jay and Dorsey being recently spotted hanging out together. Jay-Z purchased Tidal in 2015 for $56 million from Swedish company Aspiro.

Tidal, which launched in 2014 and now operates in over 50 countries, reported that it had 3 million subscribers in 2016 but hasn't publicly given updated numbers since. In 2017, Sprint bought a $200 million stake in the company. Bloomberg reports that Square declined to comment while Tidal hasn't responded.

Stay tuned as more information becomes available about a possible deal occurring.

In other Jay-Z news, the rapper and businessman's Roc Nation has launched a publishing imprint with Random House called Roc Lit 101. Books from Lil Uzi Vert, Meek Mill, and Fat Joe are forthcoming from the imprint.

"There are so many untold stories and we consider it a true privilege to be able to amplify diverse voices while exploring the uncharted worlds that are about to open to us," Roc Nation’s executive vice president Jana Fleishman said in a statement about the imprint.