When Jay-Z first met Warren Buffet in 2010, he wiped off the notion that artists can’t be great investors. Years later, the artist-turned-billionaire has signed a contract where he sold part of TIDAL, a music streaming company, to Square, a mobile payment company owned by Jack Dorsey. Some of the deal’s terms state that TIDAL co-owners, including Madonna and Beyonce, will continue retaining their stakes as majority shareholders. Jay-Z will also be among the board of directors in Square.
Square said that it took the majority stakes in TIDAL, a company that sets itself apart from other music streaming companies by providing top-notch quality audio and video services. TIDAL royalty rates are far better than those of its competitors, such as Spotify, Google Music, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. TIDAL gives access to more than 250 000 music videos and 70 million audio tracks.
In 2017, Jay-Z had sold 33% of TIDAL to Sprint, and he did not disclose how much he got from the deal. He then bought back the shares he had sold to sprint, and a majority of them will go to Square. Square will provide some financial tools to help artists using TIDAL to collect revenue easily and manage finances.
TIDAL services are available in 56 countries and have formed partnerships with more than 100 distributors and labels. It offers exclusive content and participation in real experiences like concerts and interactions between artists and their fans. It also gives its subscribers the biographies of their favorite artists’ podcasts and even articles.
TIDAL was first launched in 2014 by Aspiro, a Norwegian company before Jay-Z acquired it. Since then, it has continued to provide high-quality audio and video music.
Jay-Z made it clear that TIDAL will continue supporting artists and that the partnership will be a complete game-changer.
“It comes down to one simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work. New ideas are found at intersections, and we believe there’s a compelling one between music and the economy. I knew TIDAL was something special as soon as I experienced it, and it will continue to be the best home for music, musicians, and culture.” Dorsey stated.
The partnership between Square and TIDAL came weeks ago after LVMH, a luxury goods company, announced that it had made agreements to buy 50% of Jay-Z owned champagne brand Armand de Brignac. Jay-Z has owned the company since 2014, and it has won several accolades in wine tasting competitions in the US. “We were always looking to grow this brand and this happened very naturally. “said Jay-Z.
LVMH owns several other champagne brands like Moet & Chandon, veuve Clicquot and Dom Perignon. Jay-Z stated that their partnership would greatly facilitate the growth of his brand. However, LVMH did not make the terms of the deal public. However, if we were to go by Jay-Z’s lyrics, half of Armand de Brignac would be $250 in 2018. “I’m 50 percent of d’ussé and its debt-free, 100 percent of Ace of Spades, worth half a B,” Jay-Z said in one of his lyrics.
Drinking champagne to mark a celebration is a long-kept tradition that features in every anniversary or wedding checklist and such types of events for making a toast. Formula 1 winners and other sportsmen/women spray champagne to celebrate their victory. Lately, in 2020, champagne shipment fell by 18%, a very significant percentage, due to the restrictions that were put up to contain the COVID 19 pandemic spread.
“For years we have been following the fantastic success of Armand de Brignac and admiring their ability to challenge some of the rules of the champagne category,” said the president of Moet Hennessy, Philippe Schaus.
LVMH’s experience in creating luxury brands and its distribution muscle “will give Armand de Brignac the commercial power it needs to grow and flourish even further,” Jay-Z added.
Jay-Z has always had a strong interest in champagnes. He had already started championing Cristal but stopped the campaign in 2006 when the company’s head made some disturbing remarks about the popularity of champagne in the hip-hop world. Jay-Z concentrated on Armand de Brignanc or Ace of Spades, the signature champagne in one of his music videos, the same year he boycotted Cristal before acquiring the brand in 2014.
The two deals helped him rise from a net worth of $1 billion to $1.4 billion.
Jay-Z has been passionate about investing money smartly, and his moves are just proof of that. He has stakes in Uber, Sweetgreen, Ethos, SpaceX, and other private companies. He also has several music catalogs and close to 300 songs, worth millions of dollars. After giving birth to twins in 2017, Jay-Z and his wife, Beyonce, took up two mansions worth $88 million and $26 million. He also has an impressive artwork collection from famous artists like David Hammons, Damian Hirst, and Richard Prince, and to him, these are investments, according to the lyrics in one of his songs, “the story of O.J.”