Last month, rumors began popping up yet again that Samsung was looking into purchasing Jay Z’s streaming platform Tidal. While there were several clues that led many outlets (including Forbes) to discuss the possibility of a sale, it apparently isn’t so. Just recently, the tech giant has stepped forward to say that it isn’t actually interested in purchasing the music player, perhaps settling things once and for all.
It might be off, but a sale could have been beneficial to both companies. Samsung has no strong presence in the streaming music space, and it's clearly interested in having one. A few years back, Milk Music was launched, but since then the internet radio platform has failed to pick up any traction, despite some pretty serious promotion from the company. Samsung is planning something involving music, but it sounds like Tidal isn’t involved.
Tidal may grab plenty of headlines, but it also isn’t doing very well. As of late last year, the company only had one million paying subscribers, which puts it far, far behind the massive numbers that have been secured by competitors like Spotify,
While Tidal isn’t as popular as those that invested in it thought it was going to be when the company relaunched here in the U.S., that doesn’t mean it is done for. High-profile releases from superstars like Rihanna and Kanye West might have both been botched in their own ways, but they also brought a lot of attention to the struggling service. So, there is potential for the company, and people are paying attention, but thus far it has had a hard time turning many of those that are aware of the platform into those willing to open their wallets for it.
Samsung and Tidal worked together last month on the surprise launch of Rihanna’s latest record, which lead many to assume that a merger of some kind was in the near future. Samsung paid for one million copies of Anti to be given away to fans for free, and since she is a co-owner, the pop singer made the record an exclusive to the streaming site for its first week of availability. Samsung also partnered with Jay Z several years ago to do the same with his last album, but that was before his purchase of Tidal.
The rumors about a possible sale to Samsung are nothing new, but it seems that they can now finally cease. Almost immediately after Tidal was revamped for the American market, there were some that guessed that a partnership of some kind was in the works. The reports were denied at the time, and they have been denied once again.
