Samsung states no plans to buy Tidal music service
While the talk about Samsung being unsatisfied with the performance of its Milk Music streaming service is likely true, the South Korean company has come out and stated that the rumors of talks to purchase Tidal are completely false. Variety reported on Friday that Samsung would be shutting down Milk Music, and the accompanying Milk Video, with plans to replace its streaming media offerings with the Tidal purchase, according to unnamed sources.
Samsung launched Milk Music in 2014, but two years later is said to be unhappy with how few paying subscribers they have, especially after how much capital was put into the service. Variety noted that most of the employees working on Milk Music were either laid off or transferred elsewhere, along with the fact that Samsung made no mention of the service when announcing the media features of its new TVs at this year's CES.
While Tidal is small in user numbers when compared to streaming giants like Spotify, Apple, and Pandora, it undoubtedly still has more customers than Milk Music, which is why the idea of a Samsung purchase, or even partnership, would make sense. There was also the fact that Tidal owner Jay Z has met with Samsung execs several times in the last few months, suggesting that talks were progressing.
However, it seems Samsung has cleared the air on the issue, issuing a statement to both Variety and other outlets that the rumor of a Tidal acquisition isn't true. On the other hand, the company did not address the reports on the shuttering of Milk Music, so those details may still be accurate. That could mean Samsung is still looking for another streaming service to buy or partner with, but we'll have to wait and see how that pans out.