Apple Could be Purchasing Tidal, or Not
After news first broke yesterday of Apple’s rumored interest in purchasing streaming music rival Tidal, two new reports are offering conflicting takes on the possible deal.
Maybe, or maybe not
Tidal is known for a number of exclusive relationships with popular artists.
First up, Recode says that Apple is indeed in talks to acquire the Jay-Z-owned service.
The report says that the major draw of purchasing Tidal would be the service’s exclusive relationship with major artists like Beyonce and Kayne West.
But Ben Sisario, a staff writer for The New York Times, recently said on Twitter that “two highly-placed” sources have said that Apple won’t be making a Tidal deal.
Tidal currently has more than 4 million subscribers.
Taking on Spotify
And while Apple may or may not be purchasing a competitor, the battle with top streaming service Spotify continues.
Just yesterday, Spotify that Apple has rejected a new version of its app because of “business model rules” and stated that Spotify must use Apple’s billing system.
Because of that, Spotify – like all other developers – must give Apple 30 percent of the subscription revenue.
For its part, Apple has shot back in a letter of its own to Spotify. Bruce Sewell, Apple general counsel, called the claims “troubling” and “half-truths.” His letter was first reported by Buzzfeed:
“Our guidelines apply equally to all app developers, whether they are game developers, e-book sellers, video-streaming services or digital music distributors; and regardless of whether or not they compete against Apple. We did not alter our behavior or our rules when we introduced our own music streaming service or when Spotify became a competitor,” Sewell explains. “Ironically, it is now Spotify that wants things to be different by asking for preferential treatment from Apple.”
