Sources split on alleged acquisition talks between Apple and Tidal

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV
Two newer claims differ on whether Apple is in talks about possibly acquiring Tidal, one of its rivals in the streaming music space.




The existence of talks, originally reported by the Wall Street Journal, has allegedly been confirmed by sources for Re/code. However Ben Sisario -- a writer for the New York Times -- cited "two highly placed sources" as saying that Apple will not buy Tidal.

The Journal noted that Apple was in "exploratory talks" that might not result in a deal. The company occasionally engages in such negotiations -- one rumor suggested that Apple raised the idea of buying Time Warner in 2015, but never took things beyond a preliminary stage.

Since there are few if any major technical differences between Tidal and Apple Music, a takeover would mostly allow Apple to remove a competitor from the marketplace and fill in gaps in exclusives. While Apple Music regularly offers exclusives of its own, Tidal has been able to draw listeners with temporary or permanent exclusives from artists like Beyonce, Prince, Rihanna, and Kanye West.

Apple could theoretically absorb Tidal's 4 million subscribers into its current pool of 15 million people, but as with Beats Music the service presumably wouldn't shut down right away, and some customers might choose to jump ship for alternatives like Spotify.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    Probably the talks hinge on how much Tidal needs to pay Apple.
    baconstangcornchipjony0JanNL
  • Reply 2 of 14
    And the WSJ has such an amaaazing record for Apple rumors...
    baconstang
  • Reply 3 of 14
    Apple doesn't need Tidal.  Tidal was established to get a payday like Beats did, nothing more.  Only problem is that Tidal is hemorrhaging cash paying its "owner's" for exclusive deals.  bWithout a white knight savior Todal will cease to exist by 2018.
  • Reply 4 of 14
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Fish sticks.
    baconstang
  • Reply 5 of 14
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    So this is like the Time Warner rumor. I wonder who's floating them. Apple or someone else?
  • Reply 6 of 14
    I do like Tidal's lossless quality, I must admit. I dropped Apple Music for a while to use it before Apple Music worked out a few bugs -- and my kids begged for the family plan on Apple Music. 
    baconstangMichael Kares
  • Reply 7 of 14
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Tidal is a joke.  I'm beginning to suspect that the only reason Tidal came about was to eventually be acquired by someone like Apple so Jay-Z can bank big like Dr. Dre did with Beats.

    At least Beats was around before Apple and made a name for themselves before Apple was even on their radar.  Tidal is just hanging on by a thread.
  • Reply 8 of 14
    jameskatt2jameskatt2 Posts: 720member
    Tidal is more expensive than Apple Music.

    Apple Music's family plan is fantastic. It allows me to use Apple Music on any of my devices simultaneously. It is good for family but also good for single person use.

    Tidal has lossless quality. But you can't stream that much data without the music freezing due to limited on-air bandwidth.  Besides, while driving, the quality improvement is destroyed by road and wind noise.  Tidal is only useful for home use.

    Apple doesn't need to buy Tidal.  If anything, it would be in Apple's best interest to help a competitor stay alive.  After all, Apple has no monopoly in any market.  Android and Windows keep Apple away from harm.  

    It doesn't matter if Spotify has more subscribers.  All that matters for Apple is to simply create the best product it can. Then customers will line up for blocks - unlike Apple's jealous competitors.
    d.j. adequate
  • Reply 9 of 14
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    Apple Music's family plan is fantastic. 
    QFT. Definitely one of the best deals around. A family of four gets access to most of the music in the world for $3.75/person/month. 
    d.j. adequate
  • Reply 10 of 14
    pull the trigger, tim.  i bet you can cover the deal with the loose change hidden underneath your couch.  i'd love to have jay-z as yet another brand ambassador for apple music, despite his trash talking when the service launched.
  • Reply 11 of 14
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    You're funny, Avid. funny as a toothache. But i like it!
  • Reply 12 of 14
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,311member
    Tidal is more expensive than Apple Music.

    Apple Music's family plan is fantastic. It allows me to use Apple Music on any of my devices simultaneously. It is good for family but also good for single person use.

    Tidal has lossless quality. But you can't stream that much data without the music freezing due to limited on-air bandwidth.  Besides, while driving, the quality improvement is destroyed by road and wind noise.  Tidal is only useful for home use.

    Apple doesn't need to buy Tidal.  If anything, it would be in Apple's best interest to help a competitor stay alive.  After all, Apple has no monopoly in any market.  Android and Windows keep Apple away from harm.  

    It doesn't matter if Spotify has more subscribers.  All that matters for Apple is to simply create the best product it can. Then customers will line up for blocks - unlike Apple's jealous competitors.
    This is about long form media, short films, not just video and music, that attracts the artists and raises the profile of Apple Music. It's Apple getting back to the album; I'm sure some of you remember when it was just albums and singles.

    Tidal would be a cheap buy, and get Apple Music some great artists that might want to go beyond video's and music, a great example being Trent Reznor with film scoring.
  • Reply 13 of 14
    stanhopestanhope Posts: 160member
    OH why bother?  Tidal will be out of business soon enough.
    nolamacguybadmonk
  • Reply 14 of 14
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    pull the trigger, tim.  i bet you can cover the deal with the loose change hidden underneath your couch.  i'd love to have jay-z as yet another brand ambassador for apple music, despite his trash talking when the service launched.
    Bah! Tidal was built to blackmail Apple. Let 'em go under.
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