It might be appropriate to say that most people don’t really love TIDAL. At this point, we just kind of tolerate it, like that one brother from Wedding Crashers who is really artistic, but kind of creepy at the same time. While TIDAL recently broke through to one million subscribers, it’s still far behind any other streaming service. And even with a significant subscriber boost from fans of Kanye West, those numbers are not likely to persist past their free one month trial.
Tidal is reportedly valued at around $100 million, almost double what Jay Z acquired it for in 2015. However, the project has received a fair amount of negative criticism from just about its inception. With very little user growth and a massive negative perception in the public and media, it would be no surprise if Tidal tried to do something new.
“Samsung is re-engaging; they are working on something really big, and they’re keeping it very quiet in case it leaks,” a source told the New York Post. A rep for Samsung has stated that it is not the company’s policy to comment on “rumors or speculation,” however the possibility isn’t that farfetched.
Samsung has been involved heavily with both Jay Z and Rihanna over the years, and has even had on-and-off talks with Tidal in the past. Google and Spotify are also in talks with Tidal, though they are aimed at smaller, branded partnerships than a full-fledged acquisition.
“The pressure is definitely on,” said one source who confirmed that Tidal is having trouble paying some of its royalty bills on time.
“Tidal certainly needs a new home to stay alive,” said a music industry insider.
via New York Post
