Jay Z Says He Got Ripped Off On Tidal

Jay Z Says He Got Ripped Off On Tidal

Jay Z is mad. Why is Jay Z mad? Because he threw $US56 million at Tidal, the oft-controversial streaming service that even his own friends are slowly backing away from. With things maybe not going exactly according to plan, Beyoncé’s husband has decided he can’t take it any longer, and the businessman has started lobbing legal threats at Tidal’s previous owners.

Bloomberg reports that Tidal sent a letter to its former proprietor, Norwegian media company Schibsted, claiming good old fashioned bullshit. The primary gripe, according to Jay Z and company, is that Schibsted inflated the number of subscribers Tidal had before the deal.

“It became clear after taking control of TIDAL and conducting our own audit that the total number of subscribers was actually well below the 540,000 reported to us by the prior owners,” a Tidal representative wrote in a statement emailed to Gizmodo. “As a result, we have now served legal notice to parties involved in the sale.”

The drama comes just one day after the first anniversary of the streaming service’s excessive launch party. Oh, how the tides have turned! Of course, just a few days ago, Tidal was boasting about its subscription numbers, which at three million are certainly not nothing.

For its part, Schibsted is also calling bullshit. “We disagree with the accusations in the letter and any potential claims,” a company spokesman told Bloomberg. “We would like to point out that the company was listed on the stock exchange with everything that entails regarding transparent financial reporting.”

When asked for confirmation of a lawsuit, the Tidal representative said only that the company “cannot share further comment during active legal proceedings”.

On the bright side, this serves as a good reminder for anyone who forgot to cancel their free Tidal subscription.

[Bloomberg]

Top image credit: Getty


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