JAY-Z SELLS A CHUNK OF TIDAL TO SQUARE

Jack Dorsey’s mobile payments company, Square, will pay $297m in stock and cash for a “significant majority” of Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service.

Square Hardware Lead Jesse Dorogusker will be overseeing Tidal on an interim basis. The company will offer financial tools to Tidal artists to help them collect revenue and manage their finances.

Jay-Z and the other artist shareholders—Beyoncé, Madonna, Rihanna, etc.—will still own their portions of the company, which will become an independent unit within Square.

Jay-Z tweeted his thoughts on the deal, writing “I said from the beginning that TIDAL was about more than just streaming music, and six years later, it has remained a platform that supports artists at every point in their careers. Artists deserve better tools to assist them in their creative journey. This partnership will be a game-changer for many.”

Jay-Z will get a seat on the Square board. Square is acquiring most of the shares of Tidal Jay-Z purchased from T-Mobile earlier this week—T-Mobile had acquired the shares in its takeover of Sprint, which bought 33% of Tidal back in 2017.

Jack is one of the greatest minds of our times, and our many discussions about TIDAL’s endless possibilities have made me even more inspired about its future. This shared vision makes me even more excited to join the Square board.

— Mr. Carter (@sc) March 4, 2021

I’m grateful for Jay’s vision, wisdom, and leadership. I knew TIDAL was something special as soon as I experienced it, and I’m inspired to work with him. He'll now help lead our entire company, including Seller and the Cash App, as soon as the deal closes. https://t.co/YRfYjcWJQx pic.twitter.com/xBtq2xfwue

— jack (@jack) March 4, 2021