If Apple buys Tidal, it won't be for the subscribers - it's only got 3 million

Apple is in "talks" to buy Tidal, the music-streaming service founded by Jay Z, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

The talks may not lead to a deal, but if Apple is indeed interested in buying Tidal, it's sure not for the customers. As this chart from Statista shows, Tidal is one of the smallest streaming music services out there, with only 3 million subscribers. Apple Music has 15 million, and leader Spotify is over 30 million.

Rather, Apple is probably mainly interested in Tidal's roster of big-name artists, including some who exclusively release their work on Tidal, like Kanye West (who debuted his latest album there), the White Stripes (who offer exclusive videos), and Prince.

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