TIDAL POLITICAL

Target: TIDAL Research cutoff: 24 October 2026 Corporate context: TIDAL Music AS / Block, Inc.

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

Official statements concerning Israel-Palestine

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL corporate statement explicitly endorsing Israel’s military operations, supporting the Israeli settlement enterprise, condemning Palestinian political activity, endorsing Palestinian statehood, or adopting a formal corporate position on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Corporate mission and communication

TIDAL’s January 2026 corporate introduction describes the platform as an artist-focused global music service and identifies it as part of Block, Inc.; its current public description emphasizes music quality, artist empowerment and access to music rather than geopolitical objectives.^{1, 2}

Market framing

TIDAL’s official country-availability list, updated 9 January 2026, includes Israel among its supported Asian markets, alongside Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates; the page presents Israel as an ordinary service-availability territory without identifying a government partnership or territorial subdivision.³

Comparative communications

TIDAL’s public press resources and editorial magazine establish that the company maintains separate corporate communications and music-editorial channels; their existence does not establish a company position on any specific geopolitical conflict.^{4, 5}

No sufficiently verified company-wide comparison was identified between TIDAL’s responses to the Israel-Palestine conflict and its responses to Ukraine, Black Lives Matter, COVID-19 or other geopolitical and social issues.

Human-rights governance communications

TIDAL Music AS states publicly that it publishes human-rights due-diligence information pursuant to Norway’s Transparency Act; its fiscal 2025 statement was adopted in June 2026 and describes supplier oversight, labour protections, reporting procedures and group-level compliance arrangements.^{6, 7}

The 2026 transparency statement identifies Block’s Code of Business Conduct, supplier code, third-party risk-management procedures and grievance channels as relevant governance mechanisms for TIDAL Norway; it does not identify a specific Israel-Palestine-related incident or corrective action.⁷

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Territorial availability

As of the official service list updated 9 January 2026, TIDAL offers music streaming in Israel.³

TIDAL’s published service terms restrict use to countries where its service is offered and describe the rights and conditions governing access to the streaming platform.⁸

Corporate operations

TIDAL Norway’s fiscal 2025 transparency statement identifies Oslo as its principal headquarters and describes its activities as product development, music licensing, commercial support and administration; it reports 35 employees in Oslo at 31 December 2025.⁷

The statement says that TIDAL Norway supports a global service operating in more than 60 countries, while procurement and certain infrastructure relationships are handled through Block group-level functions.⁷

Occupied Palestinian Territory presence

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL-owned office, facility, settlement-based subsidiary, dealership, physical distribution centre or separately documented streaming infrastructure installation in an Israeli settlement.

No public evidence identified of TIDAL equipment, software or services being supplied under a named contract to Israeli settlement authorities or the Israeli military.

TIDAL’s January 2026 availability list identifies Israel but does not separately identify the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza or the Golan Heights; the list alone does not establish the physical location of service infrastructure or the treatment of particular disputed territories.³

Technology and supplier arrangements

TIDAL Norway’s fiscal 2025 statement says its technology infrastructure combines Block-wide cloud relationships with providers directly contracted by TIDAL, and acknowledges limited visibility into some lower-tier infrastructure supply chains; it does not name the individual cloud providers.⁷

The same statement identifies professional services, content services, marketing, cloud infrastructure and corporate support as supplier categories, with more than 100 active commercial supplier relationships passing through the group procurement process during fiscal 2025.⁷

Legal and regulatory scrutiny

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL-specific proceeding, judgment, regulator finding or sanctions measure concerning settlement operations or Israeli military procurement.

No independently verified TIDAL-specific listing was established from the accessible evidence reviewed in connection with the UN settlement-business database or the UN Special Rapporteur’s A/HRC/59/23 report.

Civil society and boycott campaigns

The No Music For Genocide campaign, active in the 2025–2026 period, calls on artists and labels to remove or restrict their music in Israel; its published materials describe territorial restrictions implemented through labels, distributors and other rights-management arrangements.⁹

The campaign’s FAQ discusses the territorial effects of music geo-blocking and notes that distributors or streaming services may treat Israel and Palestinian territories differently; it does not establish that TIDAL adopted a company-wide boycott policy.¹⁰

TIDAL’s 2026 artist documentation confirms that record labels and distributors are operational intermediaries for music delivery and royalty administration, while TIDAL separately maintains content and rights-management policies.^{11, 12}

No public evidence identified of a named, independently verified campaign specifically demanding divestment from TIDAL because of a documented settlement, military or Israeli-government relationship.

No public evidence identified of a formal TIDAL corporate response to a TIDAL-specific Israel-Palestine boycott campaign.

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

Employee relations

TIDAL Norway’s fiscal 2025 transparency statement identifies Norwegian employment law, Block’s supplier standards, human-rights due diligence and confidential reporting arrangements as components of its employee and contractor governance framework.⁷

The statement describes Block’s Global Speak Up and Non-Retaliation policies, under which employees and other stakeholders can report concerns, and says that no confirmed adverse impacts requiring remediation were identified in TIDAL Norway’s operations or supply chains during fiscal 2025.⁷

No public evidence identified of TIDAL employees being dismissed, disciplined or denied promotion for Palestinian symbols, criticism of Israel, pro-Palestinian advocacy or related union activity.

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL lawsuit against a union or employee organization concerning Israel-Palestine-related speech.

Platform and editorial policy

TIDAL publishes content guidelines providing for content removal, restrictions and account-related enforcement, together with mechanisms for challenging moderation decisions through human review.¹³

The company’s artist terms establish that artists and other users must possess the necessary rights to submitted material and must comply with applicable content restrictions; they also distinguish user-submitted material from TIDAL’s own endorsement.¹²

TIDAL’s January 2026 content-integrity documentation describes measures addressing artificial streaming, fraudulent activity and related royalty treatment; this documentation does not establish an Israel-Palestine-specific enforcement policy.¹⁴

TIDAL’s artist resources identify Musixmatch as the third-party provider managing lyrics and describe the role of rights holders and distribution partners in managing music delivery and royalties.¹¹

No public evidence identified of a verified TIDAL-specific algorithmic discrimination finding, regulatory enforcement action or independently documented systematic suppression of Palestinian artists or Gaza-related content.

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL policy requiring removal of Palestinian flags, Palestinian place names or political criticism of Israel.

Artist access and distribution

TIDAL’s August 2026 Direct-to-Fan Sales documentation states that artists must be based in the United States to use that sales programme and must control the relevant rights to their recordings and other material; this is a programme-specific eligibility rule rather than evidence of restrictions directed at Palestinian artists.¹⁵

TIDAL’s March 2026 developer documentation describes a platform of APIs and tools through which third parties can build applications connected to its music ecosystem.¹⁶

No public evidence identified of an Israeli military or government application using those APIs under a TIDAL-authorized contract.

Retail and supply-chain practices

TIDAL is primarily a digital music service offering subscriptions, streaming and artist-related services; its official product description includes subscription plans, editorial playlists and music discovery.²

TIDAL’s fiscal 2025 transparency statement states that music rights holders are engaged through licensing and royalty frameworks and distinguishes these arrangements from ordinary group procurement.⁷

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL-specific settlement-product labelling controversy, settlement-goods procurement programme or regulatory action involving products originating in occupied territory.

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

Brand origin

[pre-2020] TIDAL’s artist-owned platform was publicly launched on 30 March 2015, with Shawn Carter and a group of prominent musicians involved in promoting ownership by artists; the historical launch relationship is documented, while the composition of the original artist shareholder group should not be assumed unchanged in 2026.¹⁷

The 2021 acquisition announcement described TIDAL as a global music and entertainment platform and explained the acquisition as an extension of Square’s economic-empowerment activities into services for musicians.¹⁸

TIDAL’s current corporate description continues to emphasize music, artist participation and listener experience.²

Military or state-security heritage

No public evidence identified that TIDAL was founded as a military contractor, state-security enterprise, intelligence organization or government-operated communications platform.

No public evidence identified of TIDAL using Israeli military heritage, military technology transfer or state-security origins in its public branding.

Government and academic partnerships

TIDAL Norway identifies compliance with the Norwegian Transparency Act and describes the publication of annual due-diligence disclosures as a statutory corporate obligation.^{6, 7}

No public evidence identified of TIDAL accepting an Israeli state honour, hosting an official Israeli-government promotional campaign or sponsoring a settlement-related government event.

No public evidence identified of a formal non-commercial TIDAL partnership with an Israeli military academy, Israeli security research institution or settlement-based state academic institution.

Cultural sponsorship

TIDAL’s public magazine and press materials document its editorial and promotional activity in the music industry.^{4, 5}

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL-funded Israeli government public-diplomacy campaign, settlement festival or explicitly state-sponsored Brand Israel initiative.

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

Corporate lobbying

No public evidence identified of TIDAL retaining a lobbying firm for Israel-Palestine policy, Israeli settlement policy, anti-BDS legislation or legislation involving Israeli military assistance.

No public evidence identified of a verified TIDAL corporate PAC contribution earmarked for such purposes.

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL representative publicly acting as a company delegate in AIPAC, CFI or a comparable geopolitical lobbying organization.

Corporate financial contributions

No public evidence identified of a verified TIDAL corporate donation to the IDF, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Jewish National Fund/KKL, Lev Echad, Regavim, Im Tirtzu or an Israeli settlement organization.

No public evidence identified of a TIDAL-financed campaign promoting Israeli settlement construction or political sovereignty over occupied territory.

Parent-company attribution

Block’s fiscal 2025 annual report identifies the parent as a technology company conducting businesses that include financial technology and consumer-facing platforms; its existence as TIDAL’s parent does not establish that every activity of Block’s other businesses is an activity of TIDAL.¹⁹

TIDAL Norway’s fiscal 2025 statement does establish shared group-level procurement, compliance and infrastructure arrangements, making those identified functions relevant to TIDAL’s own operational governance.⁷

No public evidence identified of a specific Block-group political financing transaction connected to Israel-Palestine policy and attributable through the available evidence to TIDAL or its controlling principals.

Crisis asset mobilization

No public evidence identified of TIDAL supplying free streaming infrastructure, technology services, cloud credits, communications equipment, logistical services or other corporate assets to the Israeli military or Israeli settlement authorities during the Gaza conflict.

No public evidence identified of TIDAL sponsoring a military reservist support programme or paying Israeli military reservists’ salaries.

Post-July 2024 and post-November 2024 continuity

TIDAL’s January 2026 service-availability publication confirms that Israel remained an offered market after July and November 2024.³

TIDAL’s fiscal 2025 transparency statement documents continuing global licensing, infrastructure and supplier activities, but does not identify a military-related or settlement-related activity continued or initiated during that reporting year.⁷

No public evidence identified establishing that a specific TIDAL military-support, settlement-support or political-financing activity continued or escalated after 19 July 2024 or after the November 2024 ICC arrest warrants.

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Original corporate development

[pre-2020] TIDAL’s artist-owned music platform was launched in 2015; the documented original business proposition centred on artist ownership and music streaming, and the subsequent change in majority ownership is independently documented by the 2021 acquisition announcement.^{17, 18}

Acquisition

On 4 March 2021, Square announced a definitive agreement to acquire a majority ownership stake in TIDAL for approximately $297 million in cash and stock, with existing artist shareholders retaining minority interests; Square also announced that Shawn Carter would join its board.¹⁸

Current parent ownership

Block’s April 2026 proxy states that TIDAL remains majority owned by Block and that founder Shawn Carter remains a TIDAL shareholder and Block director.²⁰

TIDAL’s January 2026 corporate introduction also identifies TIDAL as part of Block, Inc.¹

TIDAL Norway’s transparency statement identifies the Norwegian business as a Block subsidiary and describes group-level governance and supplier oversight.⁷

Voting control

Block’s April 2026 proxy reports that Jack Dorsey controlled approximately 42.2% of total voting power, including Class B holdings associated with the Jack Dorsey Revocable Trust and Start Small, LLC.²⁰

The same filing reports approximately 10.5% of total voting power for James McKelvey and identifies Vanguard, T. Rowe Price Associates and BlackRock among institutional holders of Block Class A shares.²⁰

These percentages concern ownership and voting power in Block, Inc.; they are not direct percentage allocations of TIDAL’s own equity.²⁰

Board governance

Block’s April 2026 proxy identifies directors including Jack Dorsey, Shawn Carter, James McKelvey, Roelof Botha, Amy Brooks, Mary Meeker, Neha Narula, Randall Garutti, Anthony Eisen and Paul Deighton.²⁰

Block’s June 2026 Form 8-K confirms that Shawn Carter, Roelof Botha, Amy Brooks and James McKelvey were elected as Class II directors at its annual shareholder meeting.²¹

Corporate mandate

TIDAL’s published description identifies an artist-focused streaming business, and its transparency statement describes commercial licensing, product development, technology infrastructure and related support functions.^{2, 7}

No public evidence identified of a state-held golden share, Israeli-government ownership right or founding charter provision requiring TIDAL to advance Israeli geopolitical objectives.

No public evidence identified of TIDAL’s primary corporate mission being the development of Israeli military, intelligence, settlement or state-security infrastructure.

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Shawn Carter - founder and shareholder

[pre-2020] Shawn Carter was publicly associated with TIDAL’s March 2015 artist-owned launch; his continuing role as a shareholder and Block director is independently confirmed by Block’s April 2026 proxy.^{17, 20}

Block’s 2026 proxy identifies Carter as a co-founder and majority owner of Roc Nation LLC and as associated with Marcy Media and Marcy Venture Partners; those relationships are separate from TIDAL’s documented corporate ownership.²⁰

The same proxy identifies the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and shareholdings associated with SC Panther, LLC and SC Vessel 5, LLC.²⁰

No public evidence identified of a verified Shawn Carter personal or foundation donation to the IDF, FIDF, JNF/KKL, Israeli military-welfare organizations or Israeli settlement organizations.

No public evidence identified of Shawn Carter holding a verified personal board position in an Israeli settlement advocacy organization or anti-BDS lobbying body.

No public evidence identified of a verified Shawn Carter statement explicitly endorsing Israeli settlement expansion or military action in Gaza.

Jack Dorsey - controlling Block principal

As reported in Block’s April 2026 proxy, Jack Dorsey serves as Block Head and chairperson and holds approximately 42.2% of Block’s total voting power.²⁰

The proxy identifies substantial Class B holdings through Dorsey-associated structures, including the Jack Dorsey Revocable Trust and Start Small, LLC.²⁰

No public evidence identified of a verified Jack Dorsey personal donation to Israeli military-welfare organizations, settlement bodies or Israeli military operations.

No public evidence identified of a verified Jack Dorsey board position in an Israeli settlement advocacy organization or Israel-related political lobbying organization.

No substantiated evidence was established that any statement made by Dorsey about political protests constituted a formal TIDAL corporate position.

James McKelvey

Block’s April 2026 proxy identifies James McKelvey as a director and reports approximately 10.5% of the company’s voting power attributable to him.²⁰

Block’s June 2026 annual-meeting results confirm his election as a Class II director.²¹

No public evidence identified of a verified Israel-Palestine-related military donation, settlement-financing activity or geopolitical lobbying role attributable to McKelvey.

Other board members

Block’s April 2026 proxy identifies Roelof Botha, Amy Brooks, Mary Meeker, Neha Narula, Randall Garutti, Anthony Eisen and Paul Deighton as members of its board.²⁰

The June 2026 annual-meeting filing confirms the elections of Botha and Brooks alongside Carter and McKelvey.²¹

No public evidence identified establishing that these individuals acted on behalf of TIDAL in financing Israeli military operations, supporting settlement organizations or lobbying against Palestinian political rights.

Direct TIDAL leadership

TIDAL Norway’s fiscal 2025 transparency statement identifies company-level operations and group-wide Block oversight but does not provide an Israel-Palestine-specific register of executive political donations or personal advocacy affiliations.⁷

No public evidence identified of a verified TIDAL executive personally organizing or financing an Israeli military fundraising campaign.

Principal-linked philanthropic vehicles

Block’s April 2026 proxy identifies the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and Dorsey-associated holding entities, but the cited disclosures do not establish an Israel-Palestine-related donation by those entities.²⁰

No public evidence identified of transaction-level grants from a verified TIDAL-controlling principal’s foundation to an Israeli settlement organization or military-welfare body.

Post-2024 political activity

The 2026 Block proxy and annual-meeting filings establish the continued corporate governance roles of the relevant principals after July and November 2024.^{20, 21}

No public evidence identified of a verified post-July 2024 or post-November 2024 military-financing, settlement-sponsorship or anti-Palestinian advocacy action by a controlling TIDAL principal within the evidence reviewed.

On 1 May 2024, Jack Dorsey publicly expressed support for pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University through posts and reposts on X. Contemporaneous reporting independently documented his agreement with political commentator Kyle Kulinski, who compared the demonstrations with opposition to the Vietnam and Iraq wars, arguing that earlier antiwar protesters had been unfairly condemned before their positions gained wider acceptance. Dorsey responded “yes” to Kulinski’s comparison. He also endorsed criticism of excessive state power during the police response. These exchanges establish a publicly documented personal position sympathetic to the demonstrators and critical of their treatment by law enforcement.^{22, 23}

Dorsey’s criticism extended to the militarisation of policing. Responding to a video shared by Luke Rudkowski showing heavily equipped NYPD officers during the Columbia intervention, Dorsey wrote, “this has been all over the country for over a decade.” He also amplified criticism of the political response to the demonstrations, including Caitlin Johnstone’s sarcastic comparison of the Biden administration’s actions with the authoritarian repression critics had feared under Donald Trump. The description of the crackdown as “fascistic” originated in Johnstone’s commentary, rather than an independently authored statement by Dorsey. Contemporaneous reports corroborate the wording and context of Dorsey’s short responses, although the original X posts were not independently retrieved during this review. The evidence concerns Dorsey’s personal political expression; it does not establish a formal statement or policy adopted by TIDAL or Block.^{22, 23, 24}