Apple Music competitor Tidal faces $5 million lawsuit over unpaid royalties

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited March 2016
Tidal -- the Apple Music and Spotify competitor owned in part by rapper Jay-Z -- is facing a a lawsuit over unpaid royalities that could potentially see the service pay up to $5 million in damages.




The suit charges that Tidal licensed 118 songs by ambient/post-rock band The American Dollar without permission -- and moreover deliberately skewed the number of track streams on the order of tens of millions, CNBC reported on Tuesday. The case was filed on behalf of Yesh Music Publishing and The American Dollar's John Emanuele, and is being pursued as a possible class action.

In a statement, Tidal denied any wrongdoing, insisting that it's up-to-date on all payments and that the plaintiffs are "misinformed as to who, if anyone, owes royalty payments to them." The company suggested in fact that the songs in question have been streamed less than 13,000 times during the last year. All songs linked to Yesh and Emanuele have been pulled from Tidal's catalog.

Though it originally launched in October 2014, Tidal was later bought by Jay-Z and relaunched in March 2015, with part of its new mission statement being that the service would be artist-friendly and pay higher royalties than its competitors.

The service has generally struggled to grow its subscriber base, in spite of regularly offering exclusive songs and videos. More recently the service was the launching point for Kanye West's album The Life of Pablo, which also included a botched first attempt at download sales that was quickly cut off.

"My album will never never never be on Apple," West promised. "And it will never be for sale... You can only get it on Tidal."
brakken

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Make sure Kanye sticks to that promise. Never forget, kids. Even when he's living on Skid Row post-marriage to his vampire wife.
    edited March 2016 macky the mackycalijbdragonbaconstanglostkiwicornchiptdknoxIanMC2
  • Reply 2 of 11
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Good! I'd like to see them close shop soon. :#
    jbdragontdknoxIanMC2
  • Reply 3 of 11
    Make sure Kanye sticks to that promise. Never forget, kids. Even when he's living on Skid Row post-marriage to his vampire wife.
    Especially when Kanye is living The Life of Pablo and picking fruit for an income... 
    jbdragonnolamacguycornchiptdknox
  • Reply 4 of 11
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,056member
    And Dr. Dre is laughing on his ass now.
    jbdragonlostkiwitdknoxIanMC2
  • Reply 5 of 11
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    I heard Jay-Z was looking for the exit.

    "never never never on Apple"

    -The guy who idolizes Steve Jobs and claims to be the Steve Jobs of fashion, internet and culture
    icoco3lostkiwicornchipjony0IanMC2
  • Reply 6 of 11
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    cali said:
    I heard Jay-Z was looking for the exit.

    "never never never on Apple"

    -The guy who idolizes Steve Jobs and claims to be the Steve Jobs of fashion, internet and culture
    In his fantasy world no doubt.
    baconstangIanMC2
  • Reply 7 of 11
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,312member
    I just find it really funny!.  The service that's supposedly all about the artists getting paid!!! 
    icoco3nolamacguychialostkiwicornchiptdknoxIanMC2
  • Reply 8 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    The suit charges that Tidal licensed 118 songs by ambient/post-rock band The American Dollar without permission 
    I'm confused. How do you license something without permission? Isn't that the same as borrowing something without permission? Who said they could license it?

    jbdragonpscooter63chialostkiwiIanMC2bestkeptsecret
  • Reply 9 of 11
    pscooter63pscooter63 Posts: 1,081member
    Rayz2016 said:
    I'm confused. How do you license something without permission? Isn't that the same as borrowing something without permission? Who said they could license it?
    I'm thinking the writer meant that Tidal issued licenses to their customers (end users) with no due diligence.
    IanMC2
  • Reply 10 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Rayz2016 said:
    I'm confused. How do you license something without permission? Isn't that the same as borrowing something without permission? Who said they could license it?
    I'm thinking the writer meant that Tidal issued licenses to their customers (end users) with no due diligence.
    Ah. Much simpler than I thought. Thanks. 
    IanMC2
  • Reply 11 of 11
    Is American Dollar good? Thank God I have an Apple Music subscription to find out!!
    edited March 2016
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