Looks like that Jay Z reign is not going to let up. Word is he’s placed a $56 million bid on Aspiro, the Swedish parent company of high-quality streaming services WiMP and Tilt.
“Aspiro’s board of directors has decided … to unanimously recommend all shareholders of Aspiro to accept the offer,” says the statement by Aspiro. The deal would mark roughly a 60% premium over its most recent share price.
A spokesperson for S. Carter Enterprises confirmed Jay Z’s interest, saying that his company “is pursuing a possible acquisition of Aspiro.”
“The migration to media streaming offers great potential for increased entertainment consumption and an opportunity for artists to further promote their music,” said the S. Carter Enterprises spokesperson in an email to FORBES.
While a great move, Aspiro has a long way to go to top Spotify which has over 60 million users, 15 million paid; WiMP has about half a million in Europe, and hasn’t yet hopped the pond.
In the end, the success of Jay Z’s plan will depend on people actually being able to tell the difference between lower quality audio and HiFi. In the case of Neil Young’s Pono Music, which raised $2 million on Kickstarter in two days last year, a startling percentage of listeners couldn’t.
Still … Jay Z could yet find truimph in perception. Dr. Dre built Beats into the company Apple AAPL -1.42% bought for $3 billion not necessarily by creating headphones that were clearly better than the competition, but by making them a must-have fashion accessory. Jay Z’s cultural clout could similarly make HiFi audio mandatory for mainstream music fans.
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