Trapital - why Square wants Tidal
why Square wants TidalHappy Holidays! I hope you're gearing up for a relaxing week. A few quick things:
This week's memo covers the report on Square's potential acquisition of Tidal, and a brief year-end recap. was this forwarded to you? sign up here. Why Square Wants TidalLast Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Square discussed acquiring Tidal. According to Bloomberg, Square CEO Jack Dorsey wants to add more complementary business lines to a group that includes Seller and Cash App. The move seemed odd at first glance. Music streaming is a low-margin business, and Tidal is far behind its competitors. I tweeted that the primary value-add was data. But I've thought about it more. There are better reasons than just data. Double down on Cash App's potential. The mobile payment service is Square's rising star. Cash App's gross profit has grown over 212% year over year (as of Q3'20). It accounted for 48% of Square's gross profit in Q3, and $849 million total gross profit for 2020 so far. It uses hip-hop artists as influencers to acquire customers at a fraction of the cost of most banks. In May 2019, Dorsey said, "This is also something we weren’t expecting, but I think Cash App has touched in the culture." So far, the acquisition tactics have been social media giveaways. It's effective but limited. There's an opportunity to go deeper with a streaming service that's already geared toward hip-hop content. Use content to acquire customers. Tidal is more than a music streaming service. It's a content distributor that hosts music, podcasts, interviews, and livestream events. Cash App's hip-hop loving customers already enjoy the content on the platform. Square can use Tidal's existing and new content to attract more customers to Cash App. For instance, Meg Thee Stallion has recently given away free Bitcoin. She could hosts livestream Cash App concerts via Tidal and give away a certain amount to a set number of fans. Here's the chart from the Cash App essay I wrote in March: Tidal can also offer free cash or Bitcoin to attract new customers. Cash App is the primary sponsor of one of the most popular hip-hop podcasts—The Joe Budden Podcast. The Tidal acquisition is a deeper step toward using hip-hop content to drive its growth. It goes back to Jeff Bezos' quote on Amazon's Prime Video strategy. "When we win a Golden Globe, it helps us sell more shoes." Those who stream Amazon video convert from free Prime trials at higher rates and buy more goods from Amazon. Similarly, those Cash App customers who use Tidal may be more valuable than others. There's a path for Tidal to create inexpensive content that can further grow its user base. Become a commerce platform for creators. Square's Seller services have many tools for artists to run their commerce operations. Tidal would give Square a platform for artists to share their content (music, podcasts, livestream) within the company. This is similar to the creator playbook that SoundCloud is now running, which led to its first profitable quarter ever in Q3'20. If Square is an early part of these artists' careers, they might be more likely to become powerful Cash App influencers as their careers get bigger. Shopify PM Donald Richard has a great thread on this. Everything comes at a cost. In January 2017, Tidal was valued at $600 million when Sprint bought 33% of the company. It last reported that it had 3 million subscribers in 2016. Tidal hasn't reported on the stat since, but if the number was worth bragging about, it would have been public. Jay Z's never been shy when his businesses do well financially! Let's assume Tidal is still worth less than $1 billion. Square can acquire the infrastructure to create and help produce content that its target customers and artists love. It also acquires a small yet loyal customer base of fans who vote with their dollars by supporting Black businesses, and audiophiles who love the HIFI sound quality options. Dorsey is currently on Disney's board. He may want to recreate that classic Disney synergy map with his own company. It's ambitious, but there's a path—especially if Jay Z is still connected to the business. Tidal could achieve much more than it has under the pseudo-umbrella of Roc Nation. On that note, don't be surprised when that 2022 Roc Nation Brunch is sponsored by Cash App.
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