Jimmy Iovine Shuts Down Rumors Apple Music Acquiring TIDAL

Jimmy Iovine has shut down rumors that Apple Music is buying Jay Z's streaming service TIDAL.

In an interview with BuzzFeed News, the Apple Music executive said there was no truth to those rumors.

"We're really running our own race," Jimmy Iovine, told BuzzFeed News in an interview. "We're not looking to acquire any streaming services."

The news of a potential takeover by Apple Music was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in June. In the report it suggested that Apple was "in talks" to acquire TIDAL. The two companies have fiercely competed on streaming exclusives. Apple Music has singed artists like Drake, Frank Ocean, Travi$ Scott and Future. TIDAL uses its artist owners such as Kanye West, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher and Lil Wayne to provide a constant stream of exclusives.

In the interview with BuzzFeed, Iovine did not deny that talks had taken place, but did say no acquisition deal was in place.

That means there still could be room for a takeover for Apple Music. Both companies rely on exclusives, though Universal Music Group, the largest label, could be phasing that out of their marketing policy.

TIDAL reportedly posted a $28 million loss in 2015, the same year that it was bought by Jay Z. It's finances are not made public, so there could be some discrepancies in the numbers, but Spotify and most other streaming services also post losses. The idea, like most tech companies, is to spend money to grow and then turn a profit once scale is achieved.

Apple Music now boasts 17 million subscribers and has grown at a steady clip since it was launched in June 2015. TIDAL now has a reported 4.2 million subscribers.

Tags

Apple Music, Tidal