Apple is in talks to acquire the Tidal music streaming service, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal has reported.Apple is looking to the potential for Tidal to bolster its Apple Music service, with Tidal having strong ties to artists such as Kanye West and Madonna, according to the WSJ report.
The high-fidelity music streaming service, owned by rapper Jay Z, relaunched with the backing of a number of high-profile musicians early last year.
Tidal is currently available in more than 46 countries, with a more than 40 million song catalogue and nearly 90,000 videos.
Tidal offers two pricing levels, in Australia costing $23.99 for its Tidal Hi-Fi service (with high-fidelity sound) and $11.99 for its Tidal Premium service.
The WSJ reports that Tidal has stated it has 4.2 million paying subscribers.
By way of comparison, Spotify CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek earlier this year announced via Twitter that Spotify had 30 million subscribers.
Apple launched Apple Music a year ago, with the WSJ reporting that Apple stated on June 13 that it had 15 million paying subscribers to the service.
The WSJ has reported its sources as stating that the talks are ongoing and may not result in a deal.
