Strategy in TECH...
Tidal, the musician-owned music streaming service put together by rapper Jay Z, announced this week that it has sold a third of the company to telecom giant Sprint. Although the original announcement did not disclose the price, Billboard, the music industry trade journal, said that Sprint invested $200 million for a 33% stake in the company.
If I were Jay Z’s publicist, I’d be nervous right now. The popular rapper’s reputation as a savvy businessman is in serious jeopardy. Billboard, one of the oldest and most prominent music industry publications, has recently launched a new annual survey of the top “A-list music business professionals.” In order to capture their honest opinions, the survey is conducted on an anonymous basis. While not exceptionally detailed or deep, the survey is meant to cover a “broad range of temperature-taking topics.”
The results of this inaugural effort offered some surprises – including the fact that more than 7 out of 10 of these top music industry executives predict that the Tidal music streaming service won’t survive its first year – a remarkable no-confidence vote in Jay Z, Tidal’s owner.
Tidal Music Service has, for the second time in only a matter of months, dismissed its CEO. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Tidal has dismissed interim chief executive Peter Tonstad who held the position for only about three months. In a statement, they thanked Tonstad for his service.
