Jay Z’s Bid for Music Streaming Company Accepted

Back in January, Jay Z bid $56 million on Aspiro, a Swedish company behind two high-fidelity music streaming services, WiMP and Tidal. At the beginning of March, Billboard reported that minority shareholders controlling 10% of Aspiro’s shares were considering blocking the bid. Now, it appears that the bid has been accepted, as Billboard reports, citing the Swedish publication E24. 

The minority shareholders initially recommended that the bid be rejected after questioning Jay Z’s plans for international expansion. They also questioned his valuation of the company. However, it appears their concerns were allayed before the March 11 deadline to seal a deal. 

It isn’t clear what Jay Z plans to do with the streaming services.

Read Station to Station, Eric Harvey’s piece on the history of streaming music. And read Mark Richardson’s “The Myth and the Reality of the $43 Download”, about high-quality audio.