Jack Dorsey's Square Buys Majority of Jay-Z's Streaming Platform Tidal for $297 Million

Jay-Z joins the Square board in an acquisition that will benefit both Square and Tidal users, according to the partners.

CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey announces today that his mobile payments company, Square, is acquiring a "significant majority" of rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z's music streaming platform Tidal for $297 million. Tidal will continue to run independently under Square, and Jay-Z will be joining Square's board of directors.

Jay-Z, who has invested in and spearheaded record labels, sports teams, cannabis and champagne companies, and more ventures, began to discuss the acquisition with Square’s founder months ago. And this isn’t the only business venture Jay-Z and Dorsey have partnered up for—last month, Dorsey announced that he and Jay-Z launched a new Bitcoin fund to support development in Africa and India.

Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z pictured on a yacht last summer with Beyoncé and kids.

Tidal, which Jay-Z bought in 2015 for $56 million, provides access to music, videos, exclusive content, and currently has a catalog of more than 70 million songs, 250,000 videos, with worldwide listeners and a vast industry network. But it’s often considered a failed venture, losing out to its more popular competitors like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon music.

But Dorsey sees a future in the platform. "I knew Tidal was something special as soon as I experienced it," Dorsey said on a Twitter thread about Jay-Z's platform "It will continue to be the best home for music, musicians, and culture.” The purchase will help Square, a platform that offers financial tools for small business owners to manage money, to expand their reach to musicians.

The acquisition will also be beneficial for Tidal and its artists, according to the parties involved. “Artists deserve better tools to assist them in their creative journey. Jack and I have had many discussions about Tidal’s endless possibilities that have made me even more inspired about its future,” Jay-Z stated on Twitter. Square executive Jesse Dorogusker, who will lead Tidal after Jay-Z and Dorsey close the deal, said Square will help Tidal artists in collecting and managing their revenue.