Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z will soon be joining the music streaming service industry as he is purchasing Aspiro, a Swedish music streaming company, for a $56 million offer.
Aspiro’s subscription service is known as WiMP, referred to as "a premium music streaming service with HiFi quality audio and the first and only multimedia service with integrated editorial, magazine and video."
WiMP also offers regular music recommendations and playlists based on one’s preferences.
Recognized in the United States as Tidal, the music streaming service has already collaborated with huge record companies, such as those under Warner, Sony and Universal. The service is also available in the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands.
The rapper and record producer reportedly generated $520 million in 2014 alone. As a successful entrepreneur, Jay Z co-owns the 40/40 Club chain and several other business ventures, including Project Panther Bidco through which he made the deal to buy Aspiro.
Project Panther has already released an official statement, referring to plans in expanding Aspiro's platform globally.
"The recent developments in the entertainment industry, with the migration to media streaming, offers great potential for increased entertainment consumption and an opportunity for artists to further promote their music," it said.
As such, Project Panther is moving towards purchasing the service after looking into the progress of Aspiro and deeming it to be “an innovative high-quality company with strong future growth potential.”
The deal has not yet been finalized, as stated by Jay Z’s representatives.
Nonetheless, Streaming Media AS, who co-owns Aspiro, has stated its willingness to accept the offer. Once the deal is closed, it will further contribute to the increasingly popular trend of influential and wealthy music artists taking on technological investments.
Such was the case of Neil Young when he raised over $6 million to begin Pono, which offers a convenient music player that generates vinyl-record quality sound. Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine also made the headlines when they purchased the Beats brand and subsequently sold it to Apple with an offer of $3 billion.
