Jay Z 'staged crisis meeting with Madonna, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé and Rihanna before buying $56m Swedish music streaming firm

Jay Z hosted the music industry's biggest stars at a glittering business meeting to lament 'crass commercialization' and plot their own rival to Spotify, it is claimed.

Madonna, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Daft Punk, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Jack White, Rihanna, an unnamed prominent country singer, and Jay Z's wife Beyoncé all gathered in February to share their thoughts, Showbiz 411 reported.

And today the rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, confirmed his $54 million purchase of Swedish streaming network Aspiro, parent company of music platform WiMP.

The program, which he plans to rename TidalHifi, will uniquely allow artists to profit from their material and directly upload quality tracks.

Daft Punk's two members were key figures in deciding on a strategy during the meeting days before the Grammy Awards at The Fig House event space in a remote part of Pasadena, Los Angeles, a source told Showbiz 411.

Glittering business: Jay Z hosted some of the music industry's biggest names, including his wife Beyoncé (pictured together in 2014) at a secret meeting last month to discuss the commercialization of the industry

Putting their heads together: Nicki Minaj and Madonna joined the group in a remote event space in Pasadena, Los Angeles, days before the Grammy Awards in February to share their ideas (both pictured last month)

Kanye West, pictured at Paris Fashion Week, was full of ideas that he kept blurting out, Showbiz 411 reported

They apparently suggested artists should be involved in curating and editing that material on the network.

Meanwhile Kanye West was 'out of control'. 

A source told the site: 'He blurts things out. Jay Z kept him by his side and joked that he was his "interpreter".' 

On Friday, a spokesman for Project Panther Bidco, a company controlled by the 45-year-old rapper, said all the conditions for completing the acquisition of Aspiro had now been fulfilled.

Owners representing more than 90 percent of shares in the Swedish-listed firm accepted the $54 million offer on Wednesday, the spokesman said.

Panther Bidco will now initiate the compulsory purchase of the remaining Aspiro shares, as well as delisting the company from Nasdaq Stockholm. 

Rihanna arrived late to the meeting but contributed thoughts alongside Coldplay's Chris Martin, reports say


Daft Punk are said to have made persuasive contributions, saying artists should curate the stream

Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter (left) and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (right) were among the selected few

Completing the line-up, as well as an unnamed country music singer, was singer Jack White

The deal will pit Jay-Z against Spotify, and also Dr Dre after his streaming service, Beats Music, was bought by Apple. 

In January, shares in Aspiro, which runs music streaming service WiMP, leaped 59 per cent in early trading to the bid level of 1.05 crowns per share.

'I think they will be a better owner to lift Aspiro and its advanced music streaming service to a new level,' said Trond Berger, the financial director of Norwegian media group Shibsted, currently Aspiro's majority owner.

At the end of the third quarter of 2014, Wimp said it had 512,000 paying users in Germany, Poland and the Nordic countries.

That is a far cry from its Nordic rival Spotify, a pioneer in the streaming music business. 

The unlisted company boasted 15 million paying subscribers in mid-January and is available in 58 countries.

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