It appears that Apple is in talks with Tidal to acquire the music streaming service owned by rap mogul Jay Z, reported The Wall Street Journal. The initial report came as a surprise to many, but now bloggers are making the case for why it could be the best of both worlds. Tidal and Apple Music both have exclusivity with certain artists, but Tidal has maintained higher pay-per-stream rates for Tidal artists.
Furthermore, Tidal now has 4 million paying subscribers while Apple Music has 15 million. If either plan to catch up or surpass Spotify’s 30 million paying subscribers, combining efforts could be a way to help bridge that gap.
Others are concerned that the values of Tidal would be lost when merged with Apple Music. Two of those main values being high-quality sound and fair pay for artists. However, coming together would also make Apple Music the go-to place for streaming new, exclusive content. Right now, Tidal has, or have had, exclusivity with major artists such as Beyonce, Adele, Kanye West, and the late beloved Prince. Meanwhile, Apple Music has Drake, Taylor Swift, and Pharrell Williams in its court. Bring the two streaming services together (granted Apple can manage to keep all the artists) and we’ll have one service that drops all the latest music. Especially since Spotify has made it clear it’s not interested in getting into the exclusivity game.
Should this deal go through, my hope is that Apple will bring the best of Tidal to its still-not-that-great service. Apple Music has a huge selection of music but Tidal has the better listening experience. Meanwhile Spotify continues to have the best features. The winner of the streaming service war is still anyone’s title to claim.
What do you think? Should Apple buy Tidal?
