Jay-Z to enter streaming music industry with acquisition of Aspiro

Shawn Knight

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After being outbid by Markus “Notch” Persson for an extravagant mansion in Beverly Hills, Jay-Z is turning his attention (and cash) to a potentially profitable venture – streaming music.

The 45-year-old rapper, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, has put an offer on the table to buy Scandinavian music streaming company Aspiro for $56 million. Fortune notes that Norwegian media house Schibsted, which owns a 76 percent stake in Aspiro, has accepted the offer. Aspiro’s board members are also said to be in favor of the bid, meaning it’s all but a done deal.

Aspiro runs two different streaming services, WiMP and Tidal. The latter made headlines late last year when it debuted in the US and the UK with a rather unique offering.

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Tidal offers a catalog of 25 million songs and 75,000 ad-free HD music videos in addition to editorial content. What makes it different from services like Pandora, Rhapsody and Spotify is the fact that it streams 44.1 kHz / 16-bit FLAC and ALAC music files at 1411 kbps. That’s nearly four times the bit rate of its competitors.

Jay-Z earned much of his fortune via a successful rap career but has since invested in several other ventures. He currently owns clothing line Rocaware, 9IX fragrances, Roc Nation sports agency, Armande de Brignac Champagne and a stake in the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.

His company, Project Panther Bidco Ltd., is leading the acquisition.

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