If you signed up for Tidal to secure exclusive access to Kanye West’s new album The Life of Pablo, you’ve a right to be a little miffed today.
After swearing allegiance to the platform, of which he’s a part owner, and claiming his LP would ‘never, never, never’ be on Apple, West has done a u-turn.
From today the seemingly-evolving album can now be streamed on Apple Music, Spotify and Google Play Music, prematurely ending Tidal’s exclusivity.
There were hints his stance was softening earlier this week when Mr. Kardashian released one of the album’s hits on the rival platforms.
See also: Tidal planning to become the next Netflix?
For those forking out up to $20 a month for a subscription to Tidal, the musician’s announcements is unlikely to go over well.
For Tidal, who surely handed over a pretty penny for the privilege, it’s unlikely to have been well received either, unless the exclusive was only ever timed and West was telling porkies all along?
it’s hardly been a smooth release for the album, with West updating a number of songs over time.
There was also the little matter of Tidal charging some users’ credit cards twice, while others failed to receive the download at all.
Elsewhere in Tidal land today, Jay-Z has sued the streaming company’s previous owners, Schibsted ASA.
“Panther has learned that the actual number of subscribers at that point in time was significantly lower and that the amount represented in the due diligence documents were greatly overstated,” a legal representative said.
Schibsted disagrees, remarking due diligence was performed just a year ago.
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Did you think this was inevitable? Let us know in the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
