Sprint Buys $200 Million Stake In Jay Z's Tidal
Sprint now has a stake in Jay Z's music streaming service Tidal.
The wireless phone service announced that it now has a 33 percent stake in Tidal on Monday, with the former reportedly purchasing the service for an estimated $200 million.
"Sprint shares our view of revolutionizing the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential," Jay Z said in a press release. "[Sprint CEO] Marcelo [Claure] understood our goal right away and together we are excited to bring Sprint's 45 million customers an unmatched entertainment experience."
The deal between the two companies will provide Sprint's 45 million customers with "unlimited access" to exclusive artist content. However, those that already have Tidal accounts will experience no change in their service. The partnership will also benefit participating artists, with a "dedicated marketing fund" expected to make an annual budget of $75 million that will give the artists the "flexibility to create and share their work" with their fans.
"Jay saw not only a business need, but a cultural one, and put his heart and grit into building Tidal into a world-class music streaming platform that is unrivaled in quality and content," Claure also said in the press release. "The passion and dedication that these artist-owners bring to fans will enable Sprint to offer new and existing customers access to exclusive content and entertainment experiences in a way no other service can."
Where the beginning of 2017 finds Jay Z expanding his competitive music streaming service, the rapper and entrepreneur has also been flexing his producing muscles too. Last year he announced a two year film and television production deal with The Weinstein Company, which includes a documentary series on Kalief Browder that will be premiering at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
Titled Time: The Kalief Browder Story, the show is set to air as a six part series beginning in January on Spike TV, following its Sundance premiere. The episodes will feature dramatic reenactments of the young man's life, archival footage, as well as interviews with family and friends.
