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The New York Times and others are reporting that Jay Z has made a $56M offer to buy Swedish company Aspiro, which owns Tidal and WiMP. You can read the story by clicking on the following link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/business/media/jay-z-bids-on-aspiro-a-swedish-music-streaming-company.html
From the article:
I'm a Tidal subscriber, and a big fan of the service, and I hope, if the acquisition does happen, that Tidal can be the better for it. Very specifically, I'm also hoping Tidal continues with its plans to adopt Meridian's MQA technology, which I've heard several impressive demos of (and have had many interesting conversations with Meridian about), and which I may be posting about separately soon.
Does the acquisition look likely? According to an article in MusicBusinessWorldwide, an executive from Aspiro's biggest shareholder on the board (Schibsted) is recommending the sale, saying...
Quote:
...which suggests to me that a sale looks more likely than not.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/business/media/jay-z-bids-on-aspiro-a-swedish-music-streaming-company.html
From the article:
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Jay Z and his company gave some insight into his thinking, saying that the shift to streaming “offers great potential for increased entertainment comsumption [sic] and an opportunity for artists to further promote their music. Panther’s strategic ambition revolves around global expansion and up-scaling of Aspiro’s platform, technology and services.”
I'm a Tidal subscriber, and a big fan of the service, and I hope, if the acquisition does happen, that Tidal can be the better for it. Very specifically, I'm also hoping Tidal continues with its plans to adopt Meridian's MQA technology, which I've heard several impressive demos of (and have had many interesting conversations with Meridian about), and which I may be posting about separately soon.
Does the acquisition look likely? According to an article in MusicBusinessWorldwide, an executive from Aspiro's biggest shareholder on the board (Schibsted) is recommending the sale, saying...
Quote:
"Schibsted believes there is a lot of potential for further growth of the Company. However, Aspiro needs substantial expansion capital and a strong and dedicated owner to be able to grow and compete on the global music streaming market.
“For Schibsted, Aspiro is not regarded as a core activity, and we wish to allocate our financial resources to Schibsted’s core operations. Panther, which is controlled by S. Carter Enterprises, LLC, has adequate financial resources and a high level of competence in the music industry. Hence, I think they will be a better owner to lift Aspiro and its advanced music streaming service to a new level.”
...which suggests to me that a sale looks more likely than not.