Nothing is stopping Apple or Spotify from paying big money to pop stars to convince them to release NFTs via their services. (Square declined to disclose how many subscribers Tidal has, but analysts say it’s likely less than 1% of the global market.) Then again, Square could create tools for Tidal artists that wouldn’t require a Tidal subscription to sell T-shirts, downloads, or even NFTs.Īnd larger competitors may have more money than Square and Tidal to spend on building new ways to help musicians make more money by promoting sales of merchandise and other items. Though Tidal is popular with artists, it has far fewer subscribers than rivals such as Spotify and Apple Music. That amounts to 56% of Square’s total quarterly sales, more than its older retail payments and non-crypto Cash app businesses combined. Given how Bitcoin’s price has increased since, it’s little surprising that revenue from that business rose nearly ninefold in the fourth quarter of this year to $1.8 billion. People using the app to buy and sell Bitcoin generated $217 million of revenue for Square in the fourth quarter of 2019. Helping Tidal musicians sell NFTs would also bring into play Square’s success with adding Bitcoin to its Cash app service. People who buy the tokens will get additional album art, bonus downloads, and other perks. Musicians are starting to look at NFTs too, with Kings of Leon planning on Friday to become the first band to release digital tokens tied to a new album. In just the past few months, the value of NFT transactions has grown to hundreds of millions of dollars. While a digital work can be easily copied, the NFT cannot, giving buyers a stronger sense of ownership. Those are the unique digital trackers created using blockchain technology that a broad range of artists have started attaching to their work and selling at auction. To start with, Square could help musical artists pitch their merchandise to 36 million Cash app users.ĬEO Jack Dorsey, who also partnered with Jay-Z on a Bitcoin investment fund, further elaborated on Twitter that the Square-Tidal mashup is focused on “finding new ways for artists to support their work” with “entirely new listening experiences to bring fans closer together, simple integrations for merch sales, modern collaboration tools, and new complementary revenue streams.”ĭorsey didn’t mention the elephant in the room, NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. The next move will be to “explore new artist tools, listener experiences, and access to financial systems that help artists be successful.” Square “set a high standard for building elegant, accessible, and fair tools for sellers and individuals,” said Jesse Dorogusker, Square’s head of hardware, who will oversee Tidal, in a statement. That could be a template for helping musicians on Tidal better connect with-and make money from-their fans. Square developed a lot of technical know-how and software tools to help merchants not just take payments from consumers but also stay connected with them and encourage them to shop more. Tidal could be just the first example of another avenue for expansion. Could Square follow that strategy by moving beyond consumer payments to retailers into handling all sorts of consumer online transactions?Īlready, Square has branched out from its core business into helping people transfer money to each other via its Cash app, most recently adding Bitcoin transfers and trading. Amazon, before it became the everything store, sold only books. Jay-Z said in the statement that the “partnership will be a game-changer for many”.Still, the deal could be significant for Square if it kicks off an expansion beyond its core payments business. “It comes down to one simple idea: finding new ways for artistes to support their work,” Dorsey said in the statement announcing the deal. Tidal has presented itself as the artiste-friendly alternative to other music streamers, and Square says it will take that phenomenon further for musicians just as it has for businesses with its financial systems. Tidal will operate as a distinct entity alongside the point-of-sale hardware and software offerings of San Francisco-based Square, the payments company founded by CEO Jack Dorsey, who is also co-founder and chief executive of Twitter. Under the deal, Square, Inc. will pay $297 million in cash and stock for Tidal. Jay-Z will be named to Square, Inc.'s board of directors, and he and other artistes who currently own shares in Tidal will remain stakeholders. Financial technology company 'Square, Inc.' said Thursday that it has reached an agreement to acquire majority ownership of Tidal, the music streaming service partly owned by Jay-Z.
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