Sprint has acquired a 33% stake in Jay Z's streaming service

US telecom company Sprint has acquired a 33% stake in Tidal, the music streaming startup acquired and relaunched by legendary rapper Jay Z in 2015 to compete against Spotify and Apple Music.

Sprint says it plans to make Tidal's service available to its mobile users numbering 45 million. “Tidal and its artists will make exclusive content that will only be available to current and new Sprint customers,” the companies said in an announcement.

Marcelo Claure, CEO at Sprint, will join Tidal's board as part of the terms of the deal.

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“Sprint shares our view of revolutionizing the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential,” said Jay Z in a statement, according to Techcrunch. “Marcelo understood our goal right away and together we are excited to bring Sprint’s 45 million customers an unmatched entertainment experience.”

Tidal reported a loss of $28 million in 2015 (figures for 2016 have not been released). In March 2016, the company claimed that its had 3 million subscribers - although there have been various reports saying the company has been inflating numbers.

Tidal is currently live is 52 countries with a 42.5 million plus catalog and 140,000 high-quality videos. It differentiates itself from competitors like Pandora and Apple Music by not offering a free tier of service. Its basic service costs $9.99.