How Sprint is using its Tidal partnership in the US to woo a key demographic

In January, when US mobile carrier Sprint paid $200 million to acquire a 33% stake in Jay Z’s music streaming service Tidal, there was some confusion from the market as to why the deal was made.

At the time, neither of the companies would discuss details.

But Sprint, the country’s fourth-largest wireless service, said it would offer new customers six months worth of free Tidal streaming, and Tidal would get access to Sprint’s 58.5 million wireless customers.

Around this time, there was a question mark as to how many customers Tidal had. It claimed 3 million; some media outlets suggested it was closer to 1 million.

But the partnership is starting to make more sense.

Kansas-based Sprint is now offering its existing and new US customers six months of Tidal’s high fidelity streaming for no extra charge.

The hi-fi tier usually costs $19.99 per month, or $16.99 per month if you pay for six months upfront.

Sprint says those who sign up after the six-month trial will automatically be moved to the $10 per month premium tier.

The company will also donate $2 from every new line activation with a device purchase or lease to its 1Million Project, to provide a million low-income high school students with home internet and mobile devices for up to four years.

Aside from curated playlists from Tidal, more exclusive content is promised in the next few months.

This week at the two-day eMerge Americas technology conference in Miami, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure explained that his company had invested in Tidal as a way to stand out as leading providers, as AT&T and Verizon offer their customers unlimited data and cheaper smartphones.

Merging with Tidal not only allowed it to share the streaming company’s revenues and customers but “suddenly you can make Tidal one of the biggest music companies in the world.

“We’re about making bets on smaller companies and helping them grow.”

The crux of the deal is it allows access to the millennials, who are going to be the world’s largest spending demographic. “It makes Sprint more culturally relevant,” said Claure, who joined the company in the head role in 2014.

Last month, Bank of America’s Merrill Edge analysed the spending habits of a thousand 18 to 34 year old and found that most were interested in spending on lifestyle items than in saving for the future,

The Pew Research Center found 32.1% of them are living at home with their parents – more than at any time in the past 130 years.