If Apple buys Tidal, then it won't be for the subscribers — it has only 3 million

Apple is in "talks" to buy Tidal, the music-streaming service founded by Jay Z, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

The talks may not lead to a deal, but if Apple is interested in buying Tidal, then it's sure not for the customers. As this chart from Statista shows, Tidal is one of the smallest music-streaming services out there, with only 3 million subscribers. Apple Music has 15 million, and leader Spotify has over 30 million.

Rather, Apple is probably mainly interested in Tidal's roster of big-name artists, including some who exclusively release their work on Tidal, like Kanye West (who debuted his latest album there), The White Stripes (who offer exclusive videos), and Prince.

Statista

NOW WATCH: These 'Star Wars' records project holograms while playing music