Nobody wants to buy Jay Z's Tidal


Despite being apparently plagued by financial woes, Jay Z's music streaming service, Tidal, has teetered along for a year and a half now. But things aren't looking too hot for the celebrity-backed Spotify rival: Aspiro AB, the Swedish company that owns Tidal, lost over $28 million in 2015 on the service, documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal last week reveal.
Despite the company's vulnerable position — and potentially inexpensive price tag — no one wants to by Tidal, Forbes reports. Rumors circulated this year that everyone from Apple to Samsung was interested in snagging the streaming service, only for those rumors to be denied.
"There are other companies that could afford to buy Tidal, especially now that the celebrity-owned service seems to be in a less-than-ideal financial situation. Google, Amazon or even Pandora or Spotify could probably find the money necessary to snap up the Norwegian streamer, along with its multitude of co-owners, who have all contributed exclusive releases to the platform," Forbes writes. But of course, having the cash and actually being willing to part with it for a project hemorrhaging money are two very different things.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raids
In the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classrooms
Pros and cons The devices could be major distractions
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year