Jay Z & Dr. Dre Could Be Collaborating In The Biggest Way Yet

Over the last 17 years, Dr. Dre and Jay Z have come together multiple times. From Jay’s stellar verse writing on “Still D.R.E.” to Dre showering Hov’ with an Aftermath beat of a new variety in “Trouble,” some of the collaborations have been memorable. However, in the technology space, the two moguls may be coming together in a new, truly game-changing fashion.

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The Wall Street Journal reports that presently Apple is in discussions with Tidal about a potential streaming platform buyout. Tech Crunch attributes the prospective merger to Tidal’s stronghold in artist exclusives. In 2016, Tidal solely retained the streaming rights to Beyonce’s visual album Lemonade, with multi-week exclusivity on Kanye West’s The Life Of Pablo. Tidal has also been exclusive streaming home to Prince’s music catalog, as well as specific content by Rihanna, Usher, and one of its principle owners, Jay Z.

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Artists believed to maintain an ownership stake in Tidal include Beyonce, T.I., Kanye West, J. Cole, and Nicki Minaj, among others.

To their credit, Apple Music has struck competing partnerships with Drake, Chance The Rapper, and YG in 2016—maintaining varying windows of exclusivity. The company boasts 15 million subscribers. In March, Tidal crossed the 3 million threshold. A year to the month prior, Jay invested a reported $56 million (through his Project Panther, LLC) to acquire the then-Norwegian and Swedish-based Aspiro. In August of 2014, Apple purchased Beats By Dr. Dre (a/k/a Beats Electronics) for $3 billion. Balancing his music career and label, Dre has retained a post with Apple Music after the buyout.

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If the deal were to happen, the venture would likely strongly combat streaming veteran Spotify, which currently boasts 30 million paid subscribers.

No financial figures have been disclosed from the confirmed discussions.