Jay Z Buys Tidal Music Streaming Service for $56 Million: Competes with Spotify

There's a fine line between friend, lover and business partner in Jay Z's world and these days his inner circle is making splashes everywhere. This includes the music streaming business because on Monday Jay Z purchased a service called Tidal for $56 million dollars. With this new business venture the critically acclaimed rapper hopes to compete with the streaming giant Spotify.

Jay Z said he isn't worried about his "bottom line" with Tidal. His main focus is the artists themselves. During an interview with Billboard, Jay said he planned on making "more money" for muscians. Artists will choose what goes on it. Not only that, but the service is going to be about more than just music. He explains this in his interview with Billboard.

"What if it's a video offering tickets to the next concert, or what if it's audio or video of the recording process?" he said. "It could be anything.

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but maybe they start attempting to make a "Like a Rolling Stone", you know, a song that doesn't have a recognizable hook, but is still considered one of the greatest songs of all time, the freedom that this platform will allow art to flourish here."

This looks to be a shot at the popular streaming service Spotify as Spotify has had problems with not compensating artists the likes of Taylor Swift and Aloe Blacc. If Jay Z is successful, he may have found a nice middle ground for both musicians and their fans clamoring for new content.

Of course if you'd like to try Tidal for free that won't be possible. While Spotify has a trial service, Tidal does not. You can sign up for it for $9.99 – the price and also beckon call for the WWE Network's video streaming service – or pay $19.99 a month for the premium. While Spotify may seem like the cheaper deal, Tidal is at least owned by the artists themselves. They choose what goes into it.

Here's Aloe Blacc going off on Spotify on Bill Maher's Real Time.