TIDAL ECONOMIC

Target: TIDAL music-streaming service Research cutoff: 25 October 2026 Corporate scope: TIDAL, historical ownership entities, controlling parent Block, Inc., and identifiable counterparties.

Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships

Business model and commercial supply chain

Block’s Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025 describes TIDAL as a global music and artist platform with more than 250 million songs, more than one million videos and relationships with nearly 300 labels and distributors; its supply chain is primarily based on licensed digital content rather than physical retail inventory.¹

Block’s 2023 Form 10-K explains that TIDAL depends on licensing arrangements with record labels, publishers and other copyright owners, with royalty calculations affected by factors including listening territory, subscription tier and rights ownership.²

Direct Israeli suppliers and exporters

No public evidence identified of TIDAL purchasing agricultural produce or other physical goods from Mehadrin, Hadiklaim, Galilee Export, Agrexco successors or comparable Israeli agricultural suppliers; the disclosed operating model centres on digital music content.^{1, 2}

No public evidence identified of a named direct Israeli music-distribution contract with a disclosed consideration, payment schedule or revenue-sharing percentage in Block’s reviewed operating disclosures.^{1, 2}

Third-party and indirect distribution

Music distributor recordJet identifies TIDAL as a supported digital music-distribution destination and explicitly lists Israel among TIDAL’s available countries, establishing a third-party distribution route into TIDAL’s Israeli market.³

The distributor’s territory listing identifies Israel as a market for distributed content but does not identify the origin of each recording, its beneficial rights holder or the value of any Israel-related royalty flows. No publication date was established for this listing.³

Israeli rights-management intermediaries

ACUM, Israel’s authors’, composers’ and publishers’ collective-management organisation, publishes commercial internet-service licensing terms applicable to music streaming, including revenue-based and per-play tariffs; its published conditions require an individual licence agreement and do not themselves establish a contract with TIDAL.⁴

ACUM states that it collects music-use royalties and distributes them to creators after operating expenses; no TIDAL-specific remittance amount or agreement was identified in the reviewed public materials.⁵

EILAM identifies itself as Israel’s performers’ rights organisation and states that its licensing activities extend to digital media and online content providers; no individual TIDAL-EILAM contract was identified.⁶

Importer of record

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL Israeli importer-of-record company, dedicated import vehicle, joint venture or physical-goods import subsidiary in the reviewed corporate disclosures.^{1, 7}

Seasonal sourcing

No public evidence identified of seasonal Israeli-origin agricultural procurement, including December–April sourcing patterns; Block identifies TIDAL’s core business as digital streaming and artist services.¹

Settlement-linked suppliers

No public evidence identified of a named TIDAL music label, distributor, supplier or other contractual intermediary operating from an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, or the occupied Golan Heights.^{1, 3}

Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance

Nature of products

TIDAL’s commercial offering consists principally of subscription access to licensed recordings, videos and artist services; Block’s 2025 reporting includes TIDAL streaming and artist tools within its Commerce Enablement revenue category.¹

Israeli market entry

Israeli business publication Calcalist reported on 30 April 2015 that TIDAL had become available in Israel that week, with subscription prices beginning at NIS 29.90 per month. This is historical evidence of direct consumer-market availability. [pre-2020]; subsequent availability is independently corroborated by recordJet’s distributor territory listing, which includes Israel among TIDAL’s supported countries.^{8, 3}

Country-of-origin labeling

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL product-origin labeling enforcement action concerning Israeli or settlement-origin agricultural goods; the company’s disclosed products are predominantly digital music and related services.^{1, 2}

Settlement-origin products

No public evidence identified of TIDAL selling identifiable settlement-manufactured physical products or of a regulatory finding involving products incorrectly labeled “Produce of Israel” through TIDAL’s business.^{1, 2}

Digital territorial availability

The recordJet distributor documentation identifies Israel as a TIDAL distribution territory but does not separately enumerate West Bank settlements, East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.³

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL-specific contractual arrangement with a settlement-based music venue, distributor, commercial enterprise or governmental institution in the reviewed distribution and corporate records.^{1, 3}

Corporate labeling and territorial policy

No public evidence identified in the reviewed corporate filings or independent distribution documentation of a TIDAL-specific published policy governing geographical descriptions of Israeli settlements or music services originating in occupied territories.^{1, 2, 3}

Content licensing

Block’s 2023 filing states that TIDAL must pay required royalties under licensing agreements and applicable law, and that the calculation depends partly on the country in which content is accessed; this establishes a territory-dependent commercial mechanism but does not identify a particular Israeli recipient.²

ACUM’s publicly available Israeli internet-licensing terms specify that published tariffs do not themselves grant a licence, preventing their use as evidence of a completed TIDAL transaction.⁴

Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure

Major acquisition and investment history

In January–March 2015, Project Panther Bidco, associated with Shawn Carter, pursued the acquisition of Scandinavian streaming company Aspiro, whose services included WiMP and TIDAL; contemporary reporting described an approximately €50 million offer. [pre-2020]; this ownership structure was subsequently superseded by Square’s 2021 majority acquisition.⁹

On 4 March 2021, Square announced an agreement to acquire a majority interest in TIDAL for approximately $297 million in cash and stock, with existing artist shareholders retaining interests; contemporary reporting also stated that Shawn Carter would join Square’s board.^{10, 11}

Block’s Form 10-K for 2025 continued to identify TIDAL as one of its operating ecosystems, establishing that the streaming platform remained within the reported group business at 31 December 2025.¹

Israeli foreign direct investment

No public evidence identified in the reviewed Block disclosures of TIDAL acquiring an Israeli factory, streaming infrastructure operator, office building, logistics centre or other Israeli operating asset.^{1, 2}

Acquired Israeli operating companies

No public evidence identified of TIDAL having acquired or holding a controlling interest in a named Israeli operating company. Consequently, no verifiable Israeli subsidiary acquisition date, transaction consideration, current ownership percentage, manufacturing location, workforce, sector rank or military relationship could be established.^{1, 7, 12}

Historical subsidiary structure

Block’s subsidiary exhibit for financial year 2022 expressly identified Tidal Music AS, incorporated in Norway, and Tidal Music LLC, incorporated in Delaware, United States.⁷

Block’s 2025 major-subsidiaries exhibit no longer separately lists either TIDAL entity, but its qualification expressly permits omission of subsidiaries below applicable significance thresholds; this exhibit does not establish that the companies ceased operating or that Block relinquished TIDAL ownership.^{12, 1}

Research and development

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL-operated Israeli research laboratory, technology-development centre, accelerator, university research programme or Israel Innovation Authority award in the reviewed corporate materials.^{1, 2}

Parent ownership and financial exposure

Block is a United States corporate group that includes TIDAL alongside financial-technology businesses such as Square and Cash App; the 2025 Form 10-K describes distinct ecosystems within its consolidated reporting.¹

No public evidence identified in the reviewed Block filings of an Israeli business acquired specifically for TIDAL, a TIDAL-controlled Israeli investment portfolio or an Israel-focused fund held by TIDAL.^{1, 12}

Financing the Israeli state

No public evidence identified in the reviewed TIDAL disclosures establishing that the streaming service underwrote Israeli sovereign debt, distributed Israel Bonds, extended credit to an Israeli defence contractor, or provided insurance for military or settlement operations.^{1, 2}

Block operates separate financial-services businesses, but the existence of these businesses does not establish that TIDAL itself performs bond underwriting, commercial lending or insurance underwriting.¹

Controlling principals’ investments

The March 2021 acquisition reporting identifies Shawn Carter and existing artist shareholders as participants in TIDAL’s ownership arrangements and Jack Dorsey as Square’s then-chief executive; no verified transaction in these sources identifies a material personal Israeli investment by those individuals attributable to TIDAL.^{10, 11}

No public evidence identified in the reviewed acquisition or annual-report materials of a named personal or family-office investment by a TIDAL controlling principal into an Israeli defence, settlement or infrastructure company.^{1, 10, 11}

Block, Inc.’s Exhibit 21.1 for the financial year ended 31 December 2025, filed 26 February 2026, does not separately list Tidal Music AS, Tidal Music LLC or any other recognisably TIDAL-related subsidiary. The exhibit identifies 12 major subsidiaries and expressly permits the omission of other subsidiaries under Item 601(b)(21)(ii) of Regulation S-K. By comparison, Block’s 2022 Exhibit 21.1 explicitly listed Tidal Music AS (Norway) and Tidal Music LLC (Delaware, United States). This confirms the existing audit’s “Historical subsidiary structure” statements concerning the 2022 listings and their absence from the 2025 exhibit. The omission does not independently establish dissolution, disposal, loss of ownership or cessation of operations.^{12, 7}

Operational Presence & Market Activity

Israeli consumer market

TIDAL was commercially available to Israeli customers by April 2015, according to contemporary Israeli business reporting. The original reported entry price was NIS 29.90 per month. [pre-2020]; independent distributor documentation from recordJet also lists Israel among TIDAL’s available territories, although the listing’s publication date was not established.^{8, 3}

Current global platform

Block’s 2025 annual filing describes TIDAL as serving listeners in more than 60 countries, with an extensive global catalogue and nearly 300 music-label and distributor relationships.¹

Physical footprint

Music Business Worldwide identifies TIDAL as a New York-based music-streaming business, while Store norske leksikon records its Scandinavian origins and continued Oslo office presence in its historical company description.^{13, 14}

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL-owned or leased office, data centre, warehouse, call centre or dedicated sales office located in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories in the reviewed SEC and industry disclosures.^{1, 7, 12, 13}

Israeli employment and tax registration

No public evidence identified in the reviewed filings of a separate Israeli TIDAL employee count, Israeli payroll total, corporate income-tax registration, VAT-registration number or preferred-technology-enterprise designation.^{1, 7, 12}

Market positioning

The 2015 Calcalist article reported the Israeli service’s price and launch, but Block’s 2025 operating disclosures do not separately characterise Israel as a strategic TIDAL growth market, regional headquarters or material contributor to group revenue.^{8, 1}

Local rights infrastructure

ACUM’s commercial internet-licensing framework applies to music streaming and on-demand services, including subscription products, and sets general percentage-based and minimum-payment mechanisms for covered uses.⁴

EILAM states that it licenses Israeli recorded performances across broadcasting, digital-media and online-service activities, providing evidence of a local performers’ rights infrastructure without establishing a TIDAL-specific transaction.⁶

Settlements and occupied territories

No public evidence identified of a separately named TIDAL settlement branch, settlement-specific reseller contract, physical facility or dedicated commercial distribution entity within the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem or Golan Heights.^{1, 3, 7}

Reservist employment policies

No public evidence identified in Block’s reviewed TIDAL operating and subsidiary disclosures of a specific Israeli military-reservist salary supplement, paid military-leave arrangement or employee mobilisation programme attributable to TIDAL.^{1, 2}

Charitable matching and military organisations

No public evidence identified in the reviewed ownership, operating and financial disclosures of a named TIDAL charitable-matching programme supporting the Israeli military, settlement organisations or Israeli state agencies.^{1, 2, 10}

Content moderation

Block’s 2023 annual filing identifies Apple and Google app stores as distribution channels for TIDAL, with implications for consumer access and competition; it does not establish a specific TIDAL moderation decision regarding Palestinian or Gaza-related content.²

No public evidence identified in the reviewed filings or music-industry sources of a specific TIDAL corporate content-removal decision requested by an Israeli state or military authority.^{1, 2, 13}

Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties

Founding and incorporation

TIDAL originated from the Scandinavian streaming service WiMP, launched by Aspiro in Norway in 2010, before the TIDAL branding and subsequent artist-led relaunch. [pre-2020]; its later corporate ownership changed through the 2015 and 2021 transactions.^{14, 15}

Guinness World Records records the artist-owned TIDAL launch on 30 March 2015 and identifies its earlier development by Aspiro and Project Panther, corroborating the non-Israeli origin of the service. [pre-2020]; the artist-led ownership arrangement was later altered by Square’s acquisition.¹⁵

Israeli-Nexus Floor - founding

The documented origins are Scandinavian, with subsequent United States ownership. No public evidence identified of TIDAL having been founded or originally incorporated in Israel.^{14, 15, 7}

Israeli-Nexus Floor - headquarters

Music Business Worldwide describes TIDAL as New York-based, and SEC subsidiary disclosures identify Norwegian and Delaware entities; no public evidence identified of an Israeli headquarters or principal place of management.^{13, 7}

Israeli-Nexus Floor - tax residency

No public evidence identified of TIDAL holding Israeli corporate tax residency or Israeli Preferred Technology Enterprise status in the reviewed parent-company and subsidiary disclosures.^{1, 7, 12}

Israeli-Nexus Floor - beneficial ownership

Square acquired a majority interest in TIDAL in 2021, and Block continued reporting TIDAL as an operating business in 2025. No public evidence identified in these materials establishing Israeli beneficial or controlling ownership of the service.^{10, 1}

Controlling parent

The 2025 Block Form 10-K describes TIDAL as a global ecosystem serving artists and listeners and integrates its services into Block’s consolidated corporate and financial reporting.¹

Historical corporate ownership

Project Panther Bidco’s 2015 pursuit of Aspiro is documented in contemporary music-industry reporting; the acquisition replaced the earlier Scandinavian ownership arrangement. [pre-2020]; Square’s March 2021 acquisition subsequently established a new majority owner.^{9, 10}

Artist shareholders

Pitchfork’s March 2021 coverage reports that the artist-shareholder group retained an ownership interest following Square’s majority acquisition; the report does not establish the exact present-day percentage held by each artist.¹¹

State ownership and governance

No public evidence identified in the reviewed corporate filings of an Israeli government equity stake, Israeli government-appointed TIDAL director, golden share, special voting right or charter provision granting an Israeli public authority control over TIDAL.^{1, 7, 12}

Israeli institutional contracts

No public evidence identified in the reviewed Block disclosures of a TIDAL contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israeli armed forces, an Israeli intelligence agency or an Israeli settlement authority.^{1, 2}

Structural governance and mission

Block’s 2025 annual filing identifies TIDAL’s stated commercial purpose as serving musicians and fans and providing tools for artists’ businesses; no public evidence identified of a governance clause requiring TIDAL to support Israeli state or military objectives.¹

Historical and ongoing status

TIDAL’s Scandinavian founding and 2015 artist-led restructuring are historical events. The 2021 majority-control transaction is corroborated by Block’s continuing identification of TIDAL as an operating ecosystem in its 2025 Form 10-K.^{14, 9, 10, 1}

Square, Inc. completed its majority acquisition of TIDAL on 30 April 2021, according to its Form 8-K reporting the completed transaction. The filing expressly identifies 30 April 2021 as the closing date and states that Square’s wholly owned subsidiary Vandutch Acquisition Corp. purchased a majority interest in Project Panther, Ltd. pursuant to a share purchase agreement dated 3 March 2021. Square’s subsequent Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 confirms that it acquired an 86.23% ownership interest in TIDAL on 30 April 2021 and consolidated TIDAL’s operating results from that date. This confirms the existing audit’s “Historical corporate ownership” statement that Square became TIDAL’s new majority owner in 2021, while establishing 30 April 2021 as the precise effective acquisition date. The existing 4 March 2021 announcement describes the proposed transaction rather than its completion.^{16, 17}

Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution

Subscription revenue

Israeli business reporting documented subscription prices starting at NIS 29.90 in April 2015, establishing a commercial paid-service offering to Israeli consumers. [pre-2020]; recordJet’s distributor documentation independently lists Israel among TIDAL’s available territories, without establishing the precise date on which the listing was published.^{8, 3}

Israeli revenue attribution

No public evidence identified of separately disclosed Israeli TIDAL subscription revenue, annual gross billings, average revenue per subscriber, country-specific streaming income or subscriber numbers in Block’s 2025 reporting.¹

Global revenue classification

Block’s 2025 Form 10-K places TIDAL streaming and artist tools within the group’s Commerce Enablement category instead of reporting Israel-specific TIDAL revenue as an independent financial segment.¹

Royalty obligations

Block’s 2023 filing explains that TIDAL must pay record labels, music publishers and other copyright holders under licence agreements and applicable statutes, and that royalty calculations depend partly on listening territory and rights ownership.²

Israeli licensing economy

ACUM’s published commercial internet-service tariffs demonstrate that Israel has a formal licensing and royalty-payment framework for streaming services; its standard terms do not provide evidence of TIDAL’s own agreement, actual usage or payment amounts.⁴

ACUM describes the collection and distribution of royalties to music creators as a central function of the organisation, while its published distribution rules describe allocations among eligible rights holders; no TIDAL-specific royalty allocation was identified.^{5, 18}

EILAM’s published description confirms an Israeli rights-management mechanism for recorded performers, including digital media, but it does not establish a specific TIDAL payment or revenue amount.⁶

Profit repatriation

Block’s 2025 consolidated financial reporting establishes that TIDAL is part of a United States-controlled corporate group, but does not separately disclose transfers of Israeli-generated TIDAL profits to a United States or Norwegian parent, dividends originating from Israel, or payments into an Israeli-domiciled controlling entity.^{1, 12}

No public evidence identified of global TIDAL profits being repatriated into Israel through Israeli-domiciled controlling shareholders or an Israeli parent company.^{1, 7, 10}

Israeli tax contribution

No public evidence identified of a quantified TIDAL corporate income-tax payment, local payroll-tax contribution, VAT remittance or municipal tax assessment in Israel.^{1, 7, 12}

Sector contribution

The April 2015 Israeli reporting establishes TIDAL’s participation in Israel’s paid music-streaming market, while recordJet’s distributor documentation independently confirms that Israel is included among TIDAL’s available territories. The distributor page does not establish the date on which Israel was first included.^{8, 3}

The Israeli music-licensing environment is documented by ACUM’s licensing tariffs and EILAM’s rights-management activities, but these sources do not measure TIDAL’s specific contribution to Israeli music-sector revenue or employment.^{4, 6}

Economic significance

No public evidence identified of an Israeli government designation naming TIDAL as a critical infrastructure provider, major national employer or strategic domestic technology company.^{1, 7, 12}

Activity after 19 July 2024

Block’s 2025 annual filing identifies TIDAL as an ongoing commercial music and artist platform, establishing continued group operation after 19 July 2024 and November 2024; that disclosure does not separately establish a post-2024 Israeli settlement contract, Israeli defence relationship or quantified Israel-specific commercial activity.¹

Financial-sector activities

Although TIDAL’s parent Block operates financial-services products, the reviewed filings do not identify TIDAL itself as a sovereign-bond underwriter, Israel Bonds distributor, defence lender or insurer of Israeli state or settlement operations.^{1, 2}

Historical financial context

Block’s 2023 Form 10-K describes TIDAL’s subscription-based business and its exposure to music-licensing costs, which provides the operating context for evaluating revenue and royalty obligations without establishing an Israeli-specific profit flow.²