Rap Attack: Jay-Z takes on Spotify with bid for music streaming business Wimp
He’s got 99 Problems but where to splash his cash isn’t one of them.
Rapper Jay-Z has struck a deal of 464 million kronor (£37.2 million) for a music-streaming business that is a Swedish rival to Spotify.
A company owned by Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z, is set to buy Aspiro, owner of music-streaming site Wimp, which gives its 500,000 subscribers access to more than 25 million tracks.
Jay-Z’s bidding vehicle, Project Panther Bidco, said: “The recent developments in the industry, with the migration to music and media streaming, offers great potential for increased entertainment consumption and an opportunity for artists to further promote their music.”
Spotify, meanwhile, is gearing up to raise another $500 million, which could value the Swedish firm at as much as $7 billion, according to media reports.
The move could mean that Spotify's expected stock market listing could be pushed back, potentially to next year.
Spotify said earlier this month it hit 60 million users around the world last year, with 15 million of those paying for a subscription.
Sony also recently picked Spotify as its partner for a streaming service on its consoles, smartphones and tablets, after it axed its own operation.
