LaToya Anitri
Jay Z might have 99 Problems, but getting a bag ain’t one. Or, a couple of bags, I might add.
Superstar hip-hop artist-turned billionaire has inked two major deals in two weeks, which have catapulted his net worth from $1B to $1.4B. Now, that’s what I call major moves.
Jay Z recently sold off half of his champagne brand, Armand de Brignac (also known as Ace of Spades) to LVMH (Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton) for an undisclosed amount at the end of February. The exact terms of the liquor deal were not disclosed, but Forbes has gone on record, estimating that the recent acquisition may be in the neighborhood of $630M. Mmph! It looks like somebody is brushing the dirt off his shoulder right about now.
More recently (as in earlier this week) Jay Z turned around and made another big announcement. He and co-founder/CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, struck a deal which resulted in Dorsey’s Square, a mobile payment company, purchasing a majority stake in Jay Z’s boutique music/video streaming service, Tidal.
Tidal, which Jay Z, along with other artists such as wife Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna, and Daft Punk, purchased back in 2015 for an estimated $56M, was acquired by Square for nearly $300M.
Undoubtedly, Tidal has struggled to reach the height of success as other streaming giants such as, Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon music. But, it has definitely held its own over the last few years. The service is currently available in 56 countries, has more than 70 million songs, 250,000 high-quality videos, podcasts, and thousands of playlists.
So what does this deal mean for future of the brands?
The deal, which will provide a seat for Jay at Square‘s board of directors’ table, will be finalized in the 2nd quarter of this year. Tidal will operate independently within Square; the other artist shareholders , along with Jay, will retain a portion of ownership in the company. Jay Z and Jack, both, took to Twitter to sum it all up:
Jack is one of the greatest minds of our times, and our many discussions about TIDAL’s endless possibilities have made me even more inspired about its future. This shared vision makes me even more excited to join the Square board.
— Mr. Carter (@sc) March 4, 2021
It comes down to a simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work. New ideas are found at the intersections, and we believe there’s a compelling one between music and the economy. Making the economy work for artists is similar to what Square has done for sellers.
— jack (@jack) March 4, 2021
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