Jay Z Makes $56 Million Bid for Music Streaming Company Aspiro

Jay Z is entering the music streaming business by acquiring Swedish tech company Aspiro.
Project Panther, which is owned by Jay Z’s S. Carter Enterprises, has bid $56 million to buy the publicly-held company, reports TechCrunch.
Aspiro operates the ad-free WiMP and the high-definition Tidal music services. According to The Verge, both services are geared towards the “committed audiophile,” and offer daily track recommendations, curated playlists, and audio in the lossless FLAC format.WiMP, which boasts 512,000 paying users, is currently available in Denmark, Germany, Norway, Poland, and Sweden, while Tidal launched in the U.S. and U.K. in September.
Norwegian media company Schibsted, which owns a majority share in Aspiro, accepted the bid Friday while Aspiro’s board has “unanimously recommended” that shareholders accept the offer.
The acquisition would expand Jay Z’s Roc Nation empire, which already includes entertainment and sports divisions.
Jay Z is not the first rapper to take on music streaming. Dr. Dre launched his Beats Music service, which was acquired by Apple in a $3 billion deal last year.