The New York Post is reporting that Samsung is in talks with Jay Z to buy TIDAL, the streaming service the Roc Nation founder purchased in October of 2014 and infamously re-launched in March of last year.
The report also notes that in addition to Samsung, Google and Spotify have expressed interest in the company, originally a Swedish brand, but that Samsung has made itself appear to be the strongest of the suitors thanks to “really big” plans that have yet to be teased or unveiled, and the figure being tossed around is $100 million.
It’s still unclear what Jay’s involvement would be–if any–should he decide to sell TIDAL to Samsung, but he’s certainly no stranger to cutting deals with the mega phone and tech company. In 2013, Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail album was certified platinum before its retail release thanks to Samsung’s pre-sale purchase of 1 million copies of the album, which it distributed to Samsung mobile users across the globe. That deal, reported to be worth $5 million, was part of a larger deal with Roc Nation–estimated at $20 million–that likely paved the way for Rihanna’s latest album, ANTI, to be similarly distributed. Rih’s 8th LP was available exclusively through TIDAL and a similar Samsung mobile program for the first week of its release, and was certified platinum by the RIAA just hours after the music went live on TIDAL.
Though the Post’s report says little about what exactly led to these reported sale discussions, a quick Google search will uncover rampant reports of unrest and utter confusion in the TIDAL and Roc Nation ranks since the service’s relaunch in March of 2015. The company went through several CEOs in its first few months, and recently, Rita Ora sued Roc Nation for “neglect,” citing it chose to focus more on TIDAL and Roc Nation Sports than her career.
