Jay-Z has joined Square’s board of directors as part of Jack Dorsey’s major $297 million investment in Tidal.
For those who are not caught up, Jay-Z acquired Tidal, the first global streaming service with high fidelity sound and high definition video quality back in 2015, and Jack Dorsey started Twitter back in 2006. Square was also founded by Jack Dorsey in 2009 and is a financial service dedicated to merchant services and mobile payments. Now, Jack Dorsey has purchased a majority stake in Jay-Z’s Tidal, worth $297 million.
The deal will maintain Jay-Z and Tidal’s current shareholders (Beyoncé and Rihanna, amongst others) who will maintain their current shares of the company. In turn, Jay-Z will join Square’s board of directors. The deal will not change the culture of the streaming industry per-say, rather, it will allow for an easier payment system which would give more control to musicians and artists, especially smaller artists. Current payment systems typically generate a slow payment schedule. With the implementation of this new deal, artists of all sizes will be compensated in a timely, more efficient manner.
According to Consequence of Sound, Tidal currently has 70 million songs and 25,000 videos available in 56 countries. Through this deal, both Tidal and Square are looking to push the boundaries of music streaming payment services going forward.
Reach Jack Dorsey’s announcement below:
Square is acquiring a majority ownership stake in TIDAL through a new joint venture, with the original artists becoming the second largest group of shareholders, and JAY-Z joining the Square board. Why would a music streaming company and a financial services company join forces?!
— jack (@jack) March 4, 2021
Feature Photo – Andrew Harrer/Getty Images
Source – Consequence of Sound
