Sprint in streaming deal to boost fledging Tidal
Telecom giant Sprint said today it would buy one-third of rap mogul Jay Z's Tidal streaming platform, breathing new life into a service whose star power has failed to translate into market dominance.
Sprint is owned by Japan's Softbank and is the fourth-largest mobile service provider in the US.
It said it plans to roll out Tidal content exclusives for the carrier's customers.
A joint statement did not reveal the size of the deal but music industry magazine Billboard said the 33% stake in Tidal was worth $200m.
Jay Z and other top names in music - including Madonna, Daft Punk and Coldplay's Chris Martin - in March 2015 unveiled Tidal, promising to give artists greater control in the fast-growing industry of streaming.
Tidal has sought to win customers by providing exclusive content and early releases from Tidal's superstar artists including Jay Z's wife Beyonce and rapper Kanye West.
But Spotify, based in Stockholm, remains by far the biggest force in streaming, which allows unlimited, on-demand music, followed by tech giant Apple which launched its own service in mid-2015.
Tidal also markets itself to audiophiles through higher-quality files than Spotify, but its premier service is twice as expensive.
Under the deal, Jay Z and other artists will remain in charge of Tidal but Sprint's chief executive officer, veteran telecom entrepreneur Marcelo Claure, will sit on its board.
"Sprint shares our view of revolutionising the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential," Jay Z said in a statement.
Sprint had more than 60 million US connections as of September 2016 through brands such as Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless.
