Jay-Z's streaming service Tidal posts huge losses: media

PanARMENIAN.Net - Music streaming service Tidal, owned by rap star Jay-Z, posted heavy losses last year and has had trouble making payments on time, Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported on Tuesday, September 13, according to AFP.

Tidal's parent group Aspiro posted a loss of 239.5 million Swedish kronor (25.1 million euros, $28 million) last year, according to DN which examined the unlisted company's accounts.

Tidal is Aspiro's core holding.

Tidal has also received around a hundred payment default records since Jay-Z bought the company through his holding group Project Panther Bidco for $56 million in March 2015.

It has 3.6 million Norwegian kroner (390,000 euros, $438,000) in outstanding payments due, DN claimed.

Aspiro, a Norwegian company headquartered in the Swedish town of Malmo, was not immediately available for comment, AFP says.

According to DN, Jay-Z's lawyers have accused Tidal's former owners, including Norwegian media group Schibsted, of overstating the number of paying customers and having embellished the accounts ahead of the sale, a charge they have denied.

At the end of June, the Wall Street Journal reported U.S. group Apple was in talks with Tidal regarding a possible purchase, aimed at beefing up its own streaming service Apple Music.