With Jay Z as an executive, Apple could cement itself as the corporate friend of artistsĭespite the initial doubts about Apple Music from the music industry, it has proven over the last year that it's willing to financially invest in artists more than anyone else.
#WHY ARENT ALL OF JAY Z ALBUMS ON APPLE MUSIC FREE#
So what's the best alternative if you can't beat them? Join the biggest company on earth with a massive music marketing budget, no free tiers, and attempt to make it the artist haven that Jay Z dreams about at night. The fight against Spotify's free tier - which got a nice push from Apple last year - died when it became clear to the music labels that Spotify's 25 percent conversion rate from free users to paid was too good to get rid of. Dre, and Jay Z as executives, cementing themselves as the corporate friend of the artists, and paint Spotify - which offers a free tier that most artists hate - as the enemy of the industry. Apple Music becomes the artist-friendly service, and positions Spotify as the enemyĪfter the dust settles, Apple could walk away with Trent Reznor, Dr. Sure, it wouldn't be the same as getting Apple and Spotify to raise the pay per stream rates, but if Jay Z can deliver a sizable check to every artist that came on board - I'm guessing this would be an all-cash deal rather than a stock deal if Apple goes through and acquires Tidal - he can lay claim to victory by getting the world's biggest music store to cut a check to those in the music industry who agreed and believed in his idea. And for the 20 Tidal artist-owners that own 2-percent shares in the company, an Apple acquisition of Tidal for a large sum means everyone gets paid.
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Over the past year Apple Music has proven itself to be artist-friendly in many ways, doing deals with Drake, Taylor Swift, and Chance The Rapper to fund everything from concerts to music videos to tours. When he purchased Tidal, he made his thoughts clear tech companies were making all of this money off the back of artists, while the musicians saw their pay decrease as the world switched to streaming music. Here's the thing that makes this deal workable for Jay Z. Tidal artist-owners would get paid handsomelyĪpple Music has proven itself to be artist-friendly in many ways And let's not forget Prince's music catalog, which lives solely on Tidal, but could find a much broader audience with Apple Music.įor fans who must have new music first, signing up for Apple Music could become a very easy decision. If the sale goes through, there is a very real possibility of future releases from Drake, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Rihanna, Jay Z, Madonna, Future, Chance The Rapper, Nicki Minaj, Jason Aldean, Pharrell, and Daft Punk to land on Apple Music before anywhere else.
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The easiest way is to become the official home for new music. If Apple does manage to keep all the Tidal artists, it's feasible that Apple could catch up with Spotify's 30 million paid users in the next year or so (the acquisition of Tidal alone would push it to nearly 20 million paid subscribers), but that 100 million number looms large, and Apple will have to make some changes to reach that target. Now, there's no guarantee that artists that have an ownership stake in Tidal would have the same incentive to release their content exclusively on Apple Music without the same benefits (I wouldn't bet on Lil Wayne getting his ownership shares from Tidal transferred over to Apple), but a nice check from Apple can make everyone friends again.Īpple could become the official home for new music Spotify has said it won't engage in the exclusive game, which means there is potential for Apple Music to become the sole place for new music from big artists on their release day. All exclusive streaming deals come under one roofĮxclusive album releases aren't going anywhere, and the two players in that game are Apple Music and Tidal. But it also makes sense for both parties, given the uphill battle they both have surpassing Spotify to become the top streaming service (Apple's road is way, way, way easier, but still), and the synergies that exist between the two companies. Either way, the potential of this seems insane for a number of reasons, first among which are suggestions that Apple was actively engaging in a smear campaign against Tidal last year, and secondly Tidal owner Jay Z's general disdain for the company. Recode later confirmed the talks, though the sale might not happen, according to Ben Sisario, the excellent music reporter at The New York Times.
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Apple is apparently in exploratory talks to acquire Jay Z's streaming service Tidal, for an undisclosed amount, according to The Wall Street Journal.