Jay Z is a business, man, and his empire just expanded into streaming music.
The rapper and mogul also known as Shawn Carter just announced plans to acquire Swedish company Aspiro for $56 million. The company runs the hi-fi, highly curated music streaming sites WiMP and Tidal. The latter just launched last year, and the former saw 580,000 paying users in 2014.
The bid was announced on behalf of Carter’s company, Project Panther Bidco Ltd., and has been accepted by Aspiro. A statement on behalf of Carter claimed this partnership will offer “great potential for increased entertainment consumption and an opportunity for artists to further promote their music,” and the deal will likely extended to Carter’s entertainment empire, Roc Nation.
Beats Music, Dr. Dre’s Apple-acquired music streaming site, didn’t exactly take off last year, but it’s reportedly expected to relaunch in March. Neil Young’s Kickstarter-funded Pono player has been branded as a failure. And “elite” sites like Deezer have struggled to find their base. Can Mr. Carter’s new acquisition finally start the Spotify exodus?
Photo via Adam Glanzman/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)