He has starred in Hollywood blockbuster films, has become the most beloved TV dad since Bill Cosby, and saved suicidal people from jumping off buildings. 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. The streaming music firm, which began life as Scandinavian start-up WiMP, was bought by Jay-Z a year ago, of course, and then relaunched via an all-star press event that all PR students will now, and for the foreseeable future, study as part of a class called “how not to relaunch your product”. 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.
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When reached, Samsung said, “It is our policy to not comment on rumors or speculation”.
Although Tidal made an attempt to market itself as the music streaming service for artist exclusives, reports The New York Post, potential investors often expressed concern that the musical artists’ own label deals would get in the way of their promotion of Tidal exclusive content. Sources have also indicated that the company is having trouble paying its royalty checks on time.
“Tidal certainly needs a new home to survive”. Music streaming sources told the Post that it is now believed the company is worth closer to $100 million.
Tidal was unveiled in October 2014 with a unique selling point: high fidelity music and an artist-owned collective. Jay Z, Madonna, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Rihanna and more were all present at the launch in NY.
Tidal’s predecessor, Aspiro, was acquired for $56 million early past year.
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The relationship makes sense since Samsung most recently worked closely with TIDAL co-owner Rihanna (the phone giants reportedly dished out a cool $28 million in promo for her platinum eighth album ANTIˆ).
