Apple Begins Talks To Acquire TIDAL, Surprising Absolutely No One

The choice in preferred streaming platforms may be getting a whole lot easier and in a hurry. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has begun exploratory talks to acquire TIDAL, a move that should surprise absolutely no one. Ever since Jay Z purchased the high-fidelity streaming service from Swedish company, Aprio, it's been the singular hope of the mogul and his star-powered roster of equity owners (including Kanye West, Jack White, Daft Punk and Madonna) to have someone like, say the largest, most profitable company on the planet, to swoop in and relieve them of their duties.

Think about it. A virtual monopoly on the exclusive streaming rights of the highest-grossing acts in the industry (not to mention the only place you can stream Prince's catalogue,) yet has had little success in accumulating subscribers. In steps a tech giant with 15 million already devoted subscribers (second only to Spotify) and the infrastructure to double or triple that in just a few years. It just makes sense. And it would basically bring all of the exclusivity under one brushed-metal groove. No figures or timeline have been revealed just yet, but we imagine it won't be long now. If seen through, this would make Jay Z the second hip-hop mogul to be brought under the Apple umbrella in just the last few years, following Apple's acquisition of Dr. Dre's Beats. And we all know how that turned out.