IS TIDAL DEAD
IN THE WATER?

Seven of the 15 artists with an ownership stake in Jay Z’s Tidal—including Beyoncé—may have their music pulled from service as a result of Jay's inability to reach a licencing deal with Sony, Bloomberg reported in a news story headlined “That’s Business, Man: Why Jay Z’s Tidal Is a Complete Disaster.”

The other Sony artists are Alicia Keys, Daft Punk, Jack White, Calvin Harris, J. Cole and Usher.

According to the piece, Jay was counting on an investment deal with Sprint to cover the payments to the major music groups, but Sprint made it clear weeks ago that its deal with Tidal is not “a financial investment or exclusive partnership.”

So what will he do? As a large shareholder in Tidal, the story notes, he could sell off his stake at a profit if outside investors give Tidal a valuation approaching those of other digital-music platforms such as Pandora and Spotify. But that seems like a long shot. Another possibility is that he’ll lose his entire investment in Aspiro, Tidal’s Norwegian parent company, which he purchased in March for $56m.

In any case, the situation appears to be dire.