This could be the beginning of the end of Tidal, the subscription-based high fidelity music streaming service founded by legendary rapper Jay-Z.
According to a report, Tidal is “bleeding money and users,” and may only have enough cash to operate for six more months before it’s all over. The company reportedly lost approximately $44 million dollars before taxes in 2016 and the service’s $200 million deal with Sprint only bought Tidal 12-18 months of working capital in the meantime.
A spokesperson for Tidal seems to be deflecting the rumors: “We have experienced negative stories about Tidal since its inception and we have done nothing but grow the business each year,” he says.
Tidal reportedly claims it will break even before it finally achieves profitability in mid-2018.
Jay-Z tweeted that Tidal had hit the 1 million subscriber milestone back in September 2015, but internal records showed only about 350,000, according to business publication DN. Six months later Jay-Z announced the 3 million mark had been reached, but DN‘s estimates were around 850,000.
At this juncture, it’s hard to determine the fate of Tidal and the high fidelity music streaming it offers subscribers — no matter how many there are. Only time will tell.
Tidal – #TIDALforALL
H/T: engadget | Source: Dagens Næringsliv