Samsung, Google and Spotify Have Considered Buying Tidal: Report

[Medio]

Ill bet Jay isn't getting a majority of that

even if he got a minority of it, still a lot of money

 

[Edub]

"b-b-b-b-b-but we are artists supporting artists....."

They are...they'll all split that pie bruh

 

[Maschine_Man]

They are...they'll all split that pie bruh

Naw, I mean ALL artists. They said they were artists that would be taking care and workin for all artists, not just the artist owners

 

[HeavyTheDon]

Bro, I swear I was thinking this would happen a few weeks back. Samsung broke big bread with Jay on a couple of occasions. I have Tidal and I love it, I'm happy to see Jay making moves like this man.

 

[Brofato]

I mean, has tidal gotten better in the months it's been since I tried it? Cause it was awful to me.

Nothing worth paying that much for. And then the UI was god-awful.

 

[OG Talk]

I got a feeling the Kendrick and J Cole joint album gonna be a tidal exclusive

There is no such thing as a Tidal exclusive.. I wish folks would stop using that term..

The only thing less exclusive than streaming content on the Internet, is tap water...

 

[The Midnight Marauder]

Give this man a Medal the only man who knows what his talkin about not the sheep around here jus bleeting around......Tidal is done their software is shytty....as with anything big players get the cut which are spotify, google music and apple the rest are bleedin' to death n valuations dropping like mixtapes in the ghetto

People are strictly building their opinion of this off the strength of Jay's past success, and ignoring the fact that the financial figures regarding Tidal are pretty weak. It's not hating, Jay's probably my favorite rapper ever, I'm just being honest.

Launching a clothing or liquor line, markets where thousands of companies can be successful at once, is totally different than this.

Something like music streaming is an industry where when all is said and done, only a few big dogs will still be left standing. When a new technology starts to take off, alot of players jump in, but most of them fail.

Think of the 90's. When cell phones started to be widely used, there were dozens of phone service providers. But cell service is similar to music streaming in the respect that the operating costs are ENORMOUS. So one by one, the smaller companies started to go under, and were forced to sell themselves off to bigger companies. (Cingular and Cricket to ATT, Nextel and Virgin Mobile to Sprint; MCI, GTE and Altel to Verizon; Voicestream and Metro PCS to T-Mobile). Same with Cable/Dish service. There used to be dozens of providers, now there's only 6 major companies, and alot of those 6 are looking to merge with each other.

The same thing is going on right now with music streaming services. A whole bunch of companies have jumped in over the past 5-10 years, and many are barely able to stay afloat. 11 streaming services were either discontinued or bought out last year alone. SoundCloud and Pandora are MUCH more established and in better financial shape than than Tidal, and theyre trying to sell themselves off right now too.

When all is said and done, my guess is there's only going to be 5-8 streaming service in the US. And Apple, Google, Spotify, YouTube and Amazon will be in that mix.

I'm confident Jay started Tidal with the intention of flipping to a bigger company, but I'm also confident he didn't plan on it being this soon with the company value being this low.

 

[Cynic]

Announced 20 million last June. Figured at 25 million at end of 2015, estimated to be "near 30 million" (my direct quote) presently.

As Spotify Nears 30 Million Subscribers and Apple Music Exceeds 11 Million, Is Streaming Turning the Corner? | Billboard


And yes, they haven't achieved profitability yet. As I've said earlier in this thread, the game is to either build the value of your service and flip to a HUGE company, or stay in the game until the streaming market matures enough that there's enough consumers to bring in regular profit. But at this moment in time, in order to have a chance to stay in that long, your company has to be in a position where they can sustain tens of millions in annual losses for a number of years. It's a long term investment, but if you make it, the payoff will be huge.

As for the global streaming market, the best data points will come later this year from the IFPI. The first will arrive will be the Digital Music Report in April. The second will be the annual Music Industry in Numbers report. It will provide global subscription numbers, both subscribers and revenue, and will break down revenue by country. If previous release dates are any indication, the reports will be released in April.

It ain't April yet. I'm not going by what Spotify higher ups think is their user base is


I dunno what Spotifys strategic objectives are...maybe you do
I told you this segment is still evolving so I don't get why you think it will be a huge payoff for them......
Maybe Spotify will start acquiring publishing/record companies and create it's own content like Netflix
Who knows ?

TiDAL is developing it's business model, so is Spotify, so is Apple.....

Aspiro's Balance sheet? I'll do you one better fam. Here's their ENTIRE 2014 FINANCIAL REPORT: http://mb.cision.com/Main/1052/9718782/340280.pdf

From the report you can see their operating margin hovered in the -20% range for most of the year, then hit -49% in Q4. This after the operating margins were routinely being between -30% and -50% in prior quarters. In comparison, Spotify's operating expenses were extremely high in 2014 compared to their 2012 and 2013 expenses, and their operating margin was in the high teens, as their revenue and customer base skyrocketed. Aspiro lost $9.8 Million USD in 2014, and $11.6 Million USD in 2013.

Take all this into consideration, then add in the amount of money needed to execute a launch to the degree that Tidal did, plus the fact that Tidal only added about 500,000 subscribers in 2015 to the 700,000 that already existed when they acquired the company. These numbers are very troubling for Tidal.

Where's The Financial Report of post-acquisition 2015 Aspiro ?

Not the 2014 one when they grew sales by 22% and 8% in a quarter

Not smart? Fam, the company's worth $8 Billion! And I'm sure you'll argue that we "don't really know" how much it's worth, but if somebody like Google or Amazon was wanting to put a bid in to acquire Spotify, that bid is mos def gonna be around that $8B mark.

And the extensive growth strategy is one of the primary methods that built their valuation that high. Freemium builds your market for advertising sales potential, brand awareness, and can serve as a gateway to hooking consumers into upgrading to the subscription service. Plus increase in customer base = increase in company value.

Meanwhile Rdio tried to salvage their company by bringing in a terrestrial radio company. Any idiot should've been able to figure out that betting the future of your company on a dying medium such as AM/FM radio was a horrific move.

Eike Batista was worth $32 billion once...and Sillicon Valley is in full bubble mode.
These investors are chasing 1,000% returns ala FB and you know that
Just look at the fukkery on the enterprise side

I'm aware of how freemium works breh LOL

Hindsight is motherfukker...it's easy to talk sh!t about Rdio now that they are defunct

Nope.
Nope.
Nope.

So I guess I should shut up, because obviously only people who know Jay Z or work for him would know whether or not Tidal is performing well financially compared to the competing streaming services, right?

U work for him? You a Social Media Guerrilla Marketing Coordinator for Tidal? Cuz this is quite an impressive PR spin job you're orchestrating right here. Some real Fox News type shyt.

I didn't say you should shut up. I genuinely asked because maybe you know something we don't
and wanted to verify your sources.

I'm a consumer of TiDAL and like the product.
You seem articulate yet judgmental

No need for the shaming and these low brow tactics ...that's what women do

I prefer to call them what they are. Estimates. Which when the full and final data isn't available, is what is used in business. It's what companies use to make critical decisions, set sales goals, etc. The Dow Jones can go up or down hundreds of points in an hour strictly based off, Estimates.

I dunno how you run your businesses but we like concrete figures when it comes to evaluations

Pretty sure the market reacts more aggressively when ACTUAL figures are posted......

Then again i'm not a trader

Well, putting your company up for an IPO and selling or merging your company with a larger company are two completely different things. But I see where you're coming from.

To help with your argument, Instagram sold itself to Facebook 4 years ago for $1 Billion. Today Instagram is worth $25 Billion (that's an estimate). Considering that Instagram's financial figures were FAR better than Tidal's currently are, had investors literally begging them to take their money, and was competing in a market (social media) that was already solidified and profitable, yes, Instagram sold themselves WAY too early.

As far as whether or not a Silicon Valley should should sell now, that would in large part depend on the financial.... estimates. If their operating margin is similar to what Aspiro's was when Jay Z acquired it, and likely won't improve for a number of years considering EVERY streaming service has a negative operating margin, then hell yes they should sell.

"Instagram has yet to develop a model for generating revenue,
and substantial obstacles remain, such as whether small smartphone
screens are sufficient to draw advertisers'" - Wall Street Journal


Where are you getting this from ?

You think instagram would be where it is without the infrastructure/talent at Facebook ?

You could turn down a 450 million dollar pay day with stock in FB
when you don't generate revenue and have banks down your neck ?


So a startup with 0 revenue sold too early but companies that do should sell up ?

But what is the market demand and market opportunity for all of this? YouTube's offered steams of exclusive live events for years, most of which were free. And what is the real market potential for Hi-fi audio currently? Sure it's attractive for audiophiles, but what percentage of the market considers lossless audio a major selling point? And how much of that segment is willing to pay double for that feature. Not up on WiMP tho so I'll leave that alone.

I don't know... rather than comparing companies that are in different verticals
(Youtube isn't a subscription based company)
I'd like to see how this all plays out....WiMP seems to be their arm for the b2b deals.....

He got a couple of infusions of funds from Venture Capitalists firms last year. He negotiated with Sprint and Softbank for major investments, but those fell through.

Bottom line is, unless major investments dollars are brought in, Tidal isn't going to be able to survive on its own. And that's not even an argument.

With statements such as earlier...

it really isn't:hitunes:

 

[Rigby.]

Hov is in an interesting position...how much do you really have faith in that motto you created to pitch Tidal to everyone? If he can get this deal, but keep the power over running the company, maybe it'll maintain it's integrity?

 

[David_TheMan]

No! He's doing the only think he has a choice to do right now!

He acquired the company Aspiro for $56 Million. He took the company, then revamped and rebranded it as Tidal. Taking into consideration the costs needed to rebrand, relaunch and market Tidal, (they had a HUGE advertising push, where as most streaming services don't advertise much at all). And the exclusive deals he locked in prior to the release, it's safe to say that added up to an additional $25 Million. So you're talking $81 Million to launch a company that a year later, is valued at $100 million dollars. Say he sells the company for $125 Million; that means he would make $44 million off the sale. MEANING HE LOST $12 MILLION DOLLARS OFF OF TIDAL. And that's not even taking into consideration whatever money he lost during the first year in operating expenses.

This isn't a power move, it's a retreat. If he doesn't sell now, he'll lose even more money.

The big companies are only interested in buying because it takes away the burden of not having immediate access to the few major artists Tidal has exclusivity deals with, a slight amount of brand recognition, and the Hi Fi Audio.

I fukk with J, but this is a loss pure and simple.

100% true
Needs to cut his losses though, no need to let his pride take him under

 

[Lucky_Lefty]

Jigga Warriors boy I tell ya smh

 

[Rarebird77]

Jay is going to partner with Samsung the same way Dre/Iovine did with Apple for Beats Audio

Most likely.

 

[The_King_of_Everything]

He won't do it.

 

[Rarebird77]

As for the global streaming market, the best data points will come later this year from the IFPI. The first will arrive will be the Digital Music Report in April. The second will be the annual Music Industry in Numbers report. It will provide global subscription numbers, both subscribers and revenue, and will break down revenue by country. If previous release dates are any indication, the reports will be released in April.

It ain't April yet. I'm not going by what Spotify higher ups think is their user base is


I dunno what Spotifys strategic objectives are...maybe you do
I told you this segment is still evolving so I don't get why you think it will be a huge payoff for them......
Maybe Spotify will start acquiring publishing/record companies and create it's own content like Netflix
Who knows ?

TiDAL is developing it's business model, so is Spotify, so is Apple.....






Where's The Financial Report of post-acquisition 2015 Aspiro ?

Not the 2014 one when they grew sales by 22% and 8% in a quarter







Eike Batista was worth $32 billion once...and Sillicon Valley is in full bubble mode.
These investors are chasing 1,000% returns ala FB and you know that
Just look at the fukkery on the enterprise side

I'm aware of how freemium works breh LOL

Hindsight is motherfukker...it's easy to talk sh!t about Rdio now that they are defunct







I didn't say you should shut up. I genuinely asked because maybe you know something we don't
and wanted to verify your sources.

I'm a consumer of TiDAL and like the product.
You seem articulate yet judgmental

No need for the shaming and these low brow tactics ...that's what women do



I dunno how you run your businesses but we like concrete figures when it comes to evaluations

Pretty sure the market reacts more aggressively when ACTUAL figures are posted......

Then again i'm not a trader



"Instagram has yet to develop a model for generating revenue,
and substantial obstacles remain, such as whether small smartphone
screens are sufficient to draw advertisers'" - Wall Street Journal


Where are you getting this from ?

You think instagram would be where it is without the infrastructure/talent at Facebook ?

You could turn down a 450 million dollar pay day with stock in FB
when you don't generate revenue and have banks down your neck ?


So a startup with 0 revenue sold too early but companies that do should sell up ?




I don't know... rather than comparing companies that are in different verticals
(Youtube isn't a subscription based company)
I'd like to see how this all plays out....WiMP seems to be their arm for the b2b deals.....





With statements such as earlier...

it really isn't:hitunes:

Great rebuttal.

 

[FaTaL]

I don't use Tidal personally but If Jay sold this so soon then I am not sure what to make of it all....After the big deal they made of artists controlling their own shyt etc, then sell it to first people interested seems a little crazy to me. Almost like he fooled the artists into some shyt

Hopefully those artists have a out clause with a change in ownership