Streaming wars update! There has long been talk that Apple is hoping to buy Tidal, thus conveniently putting all the music-streaming exclusives we'd like to hear under the same umbrella. But according to Jimmy Iovine, the music-business legend who now heads Apple Music, that's not going to happen. Talking to BuzzFeed, Iovine says, "We’re really running our own race. We’re not looking to acquire any streaming services.” So if you want to keep hearing these big superstar albums the moment they come out, you're going to have to keep paying $20 a month instead of $10. Sorry Kanye.
40 is the new 30.
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) September 14, 2016
Million. ?
To put that in perspective, Apple Music has 17 million subscribers, while Tidal has just over four million, which just goes to show that you don't need splashy exclusives to do well in this field. You just need to start out way before everyone else does.
And Tidal, it turns out, isn't doing so well. According to The Wall Street Journal, Aspiro AB, the company that owns Tidal, recorded a net loss of 239 million Swedish kronor, or about $28 million, last year. Last year is when Jay Z bought the company. The previous year, it has lost money, too, but only about 89 million kronor.
