Brooklyn’s Barclays Center has inked a new sponsorship deal with TIDAL. The “first of its kind” partnership will serve as a vehicle for the streaming service’s TIDAL Discovery artist development platform, under which new and established artists will perform for “TIDAL X” events.
According to Billboard, TIDAL’s new deal with the venue will require the service to host eight events annually. It is reportedly the first time a digital content company has created a collaborative deal with a live performance venue that is aimed at creating more quality events for Barclays, as opposed to simply driving revenue to the theater. The TIDAL deal also follows a partnership the venue made with Jay Z’s Roc Nation back in July. Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark stated that TIDAL deal speaks to streaming service’s brand.
“I don’t speak for [Tidal], but I think those kind of collaborative efforts really drive home what that brand means, and certainly the impact it has. I would venture to say, based on the success here, they’re probably going to do more events.”
The new TIDAL deal follows the service’s biggest event to date, “TIDAL X: 1020.” Artist owners Beyonce, Jay Z, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Damian Marley took to the stage for a festival to benefit the New World Foundation. The event raised nearly $1.5 million for the charity, and garnered 3.3 million live streams. Yormark dubbed the new Barclays deal as a “strategic alliance.”
“As evidenced by [Tidal X: 1020] the other night, Tidal, when they want to, can put on some big time events, and we anticipate having quite a few here at Barclays Center. It’s just another strategic alliance that I think helps to advance the content business here at Barclays Center, and we’re very excited about it.”
Barclays Center’s TIDAL Theater seats 4,000 to 6,000 people for a diverse set of events, including concerts, festivals, boxing events and comedy shows.