Jay Z removes his album from rival as the tide turns on Spotify
RAP MOGUL Jay Z yesterday yanked his first album from Spotify in the US, making it available instead on his new Tidal streaming music service. It is, however, still available on Spotify in the UK.
Reasonable Doubt, Jay Z’s 1996 debut album, had been listed on Spotify as recently as Monday.
Now, Spotify customers can listen to only one song from that album: track 11, Coming of Age. The rest have been greyed out.
Bought by the rapper, real name Shawn Carter, for $56.2m (£37.5m), Tidal is being billed as ushering in “the beginning of the new world”.
The $9.99 a month service promises high-quality audio and access to exclusives, while offering artists a greater chunk of pay-per-play royalties than others.
Tidal is already boasting two exclusives – a new track by Jay Z’s wife Beyonce, Die with You, and Rihanna’s latest single American Oxygen – neither of which is on Spotify. It also had the video of Madonna’s new song Ghosttown ahead of others.