Square’s majority stake in Jay-Z’s streaming service Tidal could reportedly make way for blockchain-powered features, supporting artists in expanding their fan base, per a Gartner analyst. 

Specifically, Avivah Litan, a tech analyst from consulting agency Garner, reportedly believed that Square’s $297 financial support could be the incentivizing factor for Tidal to begin utilizing new tech, nominally Bitcoin and crypto. 

With Square’s assistance, Tidal would particularly be beneficial from non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which let artists to legitimize their possession of photos, videos and other digital content. 

NFT reportedly has the power of tracking the provenance of autographs and memorabilia in a simplified manner, possibly amping up their value for fans. 

Square reportedly put out an official announcement, regarding its initiative to agree on a deal for the acquisition of a majority ownership stake in Tidal on March 4th, claiming that Tidal will keep their independent operation, alongside Square’s Seller and Cash App ecosystems.

Head of Square, Jack Dorsey, subsequently hinted that Square will be shifting part of its focus on the critical needs of artists and expanding their fan bases, in the similar manner the company has been applying for Cash App customers. 

“Square created ecosystems of tools for sellers & individuals, and we’ll do the same for artists. We’ll work on entirely new listening experiences to bring fans closer together, simple integrations for merch sales, modern collaboration tools, and new complementary revenue streams.”