Sprint Purchases 33 Percent Stake in Tidal
Sprint has acquired a 33 percent stake in Jay Z’s streaming service Tidal, the two companies announced Monday. A source familiar with the matter tells Billboard that the purchase was for $200 million and that Jay and each of the company’s two-dozen artist-owners will remain part owners.
As part of the deal, Tidal will become available to Sprint’s 45 million retail customers, while the companies will partner for exclusives from their artists, according to a press release. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure joins Tidal’s board of directors.
“Jay saw not only a business need, but a cultural one, and put his heart and grit into building TIDAL into a world-class music streaming platform that is unrivaled in quality and content,” Claure said in a statement. “The passion and dedication that these artist-owners bring to fans will enable Sprint to offer new and existing customers access to…