Sprint to Buy 33% Stake in Streaming Music Service Tidal

Sprint has today announced that it will acquire 33% of Tidal, the high definition music streaming service owned by rap artist Jay Z. According to the U.S. wireless carrier, it wants to offer its 45 million retail customers unlimited access to exclusive artist content not available anywhere else. Jay Z and other artist-owners will continue to run Tidal as it pioneers, while Sprint’s CEO Marcelo Claure, will also join Tidal’s Board of Directors.

“Sprint shares our view of revolutionizing the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential,” said JAY Z. “Marcelo understood our goal right away and together we are excited to bring Sprint’s 45 million customers an unmatched entertainment experience.”

“Jay saw not only a business need, but a cultural one, and put his heart and grit into building TIDAL into a world-class music streaming platform that is unrivaled in quality and content,” said Claure. “The passion and dedication that these artist-owners bring to fans will enable Sprint to offer new and existing customers access to exclusive content and entertainment experiences in a way no other service can.

The press release notes that Tidal and its artists will make exclusive content that will only be available to current and new Sprint customers. The new partnership also comes on the heels of Tidal’s recent announcement revealing the availability of “Master” quality recordings. A wide variety of content from labels and artists, including Warner Music Group’s world-renowned music catalogue, is now available in Master audio.

More news on exclusive offers and upcoming promotions from Sprint and Tidal will be announced soon.