TIDAL is once again in the spotlight for a less than favourable reason.
This time it’s Kanye West and his album, ‘The Life Of Pablo,’ at the centre of the drama.
Full story below…
Justin Baker-Rhett, a disgruntled Kanye fan, has filed a class action lawsuit at the US. District Court in San Francisco against both the rapper and the streaming platform he is a co-owner of.
Baker-Rhett asserts that the Hip-Hop star “fraudulently promised fans that his ‘Pablo’ album would solely be available on TIDAL.” And though initially released as an exclusive on the site in January, it has since been serviced for free on Apple Music and Spotify. A move which facilitated its recent #1 on the Billboard 200 three months later – based primarily on streams.
On the promise of exclusivity, millions flooded TIDAL upon ‘Pablo’s release and signed up for free trials, which eventually matured into monthly subscriptions of $9.99.
Cost, however, aren’t at the centre of the suit. Instead, it’s the clam that the “trick” gifted the struggling streaming platform a trove of user information – such as addresses, credit card information, music preferences and more. As a result, Baker-Rhett is asking a judge to order TIDAL to delete information collected on users who signed up for West’s album.
No word yet on how much money is being sort as compensatory damages.
What is certain is that is that it’s yet more legal chaos for the platform; earlier this month it was revealed that principal owner Jay Z is suing TIDAL’s previous owners for misrepresenting the state of the company prior to its purchase.