Cyrus Langhorne
Apple Music isn’t sweating over TIDAL. The streaming giant’s head Jimmy Iovine has put an end to rumors about Apple trying to purchase rap mogul Jay Z‘s entertainment platform.
According to Iovine, Apple Music has no intent of acquiring any of its streaming competition.
Apple’s appetite for acquiring music streaming services, and the agonies and ecstasies that come along with them, has apparently been satisfied. Squelching reports that have persisted since June, a member of Apple Music’s senior leadership said the company has no current plans to acquire Jay Z’s Tidal or any other rivals. “We’re really running our own race,” Jimmy Iovine, who heads Apple Music, told BuzzFeed News in an interview. “We’re not looking to acquire any streaming services.” (Buzz Feed)
Earlier this week, reports surfaced about how much TIDAL financially lost in 2015.
Aspiro AB, the Swedish holding company that Jay Z and a group of other musicians bought in early 2015, recorded a net loss of 239 million Swedish kronor ($28 million) last year, according to a legal filing. That compared with a net loss of 88.9 million Swedish kronor in 2014. Over the same period, revenue rose 30% to 402 million Swedish kronor from 309 million kronor. (Wall Street Journal)
Back in July, TIDAL owner Kanye West went on a mini-Twitter tirade and suggested Apple Music should work with Jay Z.
In June, reports developed about Apple possibly looking into buying Jay’s TIDAL service.
Apple is exploring the idea of bringing on Tidal to bolster its Apple Music service because of Tidal’s strong ties to popular artists such as Kanye West and Madonna. The talks are ongoing and may not result in a deal, these people said. Terms of the potential deal aren’t known. (Wall Street Journal)
