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Kanye West Is Leaving Tidal Because the Company Owes Him Money (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the money-as-a-motivator dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Kanye West has terminated his contract with Tidal, TMZ reports. West claims that Jay Z's streaming service owes him upwards of $3 million and is in breach of contract, according to TMZ's sources. Through his lawyers, West has terminated his contract with Tidal, while the company apparently refuses to recognize that termination. West was one of the first artists to join Jay Z's streaming service at its launch in 2015; his 2016 album The Life of Pablo was originally released as a Tidal exclusive. West claims that album brought 1.5 million new subscribers to Tidal -- a number that was apparently supposed to come with a bonus check, according to TMZ. West also says Tidal went back on a promise of additional money for exclusive music videos, which Tidal reportedly says Kanye never produced. According to TMZ, Tidal has threatened to sue West if he leaves the service.

49 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Finally by Brett+Buck · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is the kind of computer culture/tech information that I can really use!

    1. Re:Finally by rmdingler · · Score: 4, Funny

      News for Nerds? Is Kanye not a Cardassian?

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re:Finally by Brett+Buck · · Score: 1

      OY, where's the Dominion when you need them?

    3. Re:Finally by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      With links to TMZ of all things.

      Financial disputes between talent and streaming service is I guess technology related? It seems more appropriate for a pop culture blog, since a significant number of /. readers would have look up who Jay Z and Kayne West are in order to follow this.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    4. Re:Finally by quenda · · Score: 1

      a significant number of /. readers would have look up who Jay Z and Kayne West are in order to follow this.

      At least they sound vaguely familiar. I've never heard of Tidal. So its kind of like Spotify?

    5. Re:Finally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I always thought Jay West and Kanye Z were more or less stage names for the same person?

    6. Re:Finally by Robmonster · · Score: 2

      Well, they 'allegedly' both need a certain white chemical to survive.....

      --
      I have no sig yet I must scream.
    7. Re:Finally by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Tidal is interesting because despite being backed by many big names, with many exclusive albums and extras, it is failing. Turns out people think it's just too expensive, and no amount of star power can fix that. Meanwhile cheaper alternatives like Spotify are popular but screw artists with tiny royalties, and royalties was one of the reasons that Tidal was created.

      Maybe there is a really narrow window where people will pay enough in great enough numbers to provide a good income to the artists from streaming... But probably not.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:Finally by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      The Dominion is a major interstellar state in the Gamma Quadrant. Don't mess with them.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    9. Re:Finally by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      You get a virtual +5 funny from me, good sir.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  2. Why is this here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    This has nothing to do with technology. It's a spat between two spoiled egocentrics.

    1. Re:Why is this here? by starblazer · · Score: 1

      because... streaming music is technology man....... just let me finish...

    2. Re:Why is this here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Oh I understand. You think rap and hip hop are music.

      Funny.

    3. Re:Why is this here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Oh I understand. You think you get to decide what is and isn't music.

  3. Missing videos. by SeaFox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    West also says Tidal went back on a promise of additional money for exclusive music videos, which Tidal reportedly says Kanye never produced.

    I don't understand how this can be disputed for more than 10 minutes.

      "You never paid me for those videos I made just for you!"
      "Uh, you never made those videos...:
      "Yeah, I did."
      "ORLY? Play one for us right now."

    1. Re:Missing videos. by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 1

      I can't be arsed reading the article, but I presume the issue is whether the videos were 'exclusive' or not. He probably just sent them a VHS of his favourite 'Fresh Prince' episode with an 'I made this' sticker on it.

    2. Re:Missing videos. by dcooper_db9 · · Score: 1
      From TFA:

      I'll deliver the videos when you pay me what I'm owed.

      Yes, I actually read the article. I hang my head in shame.

      --
      I do not block ads. I do block third party scripts.
    3. Re:Missing videos. by nnet · · Score: 1

      I tried to, but ORLY is an airport in France.

    4. Re:Missing videos. by Zaiff+Urgulbunger · · Score: 1

      ORLY is a world-famous internet owl!

  4. Who the fuck cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Again, who the fuck cares

  5. I'ma gonna let you finish... by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    But let me just say that TIDAL owes me MONEY and hasn't PAID me nothing!

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  6. Re: So... by thundercattt · · Score: 1

    Can the fans sue him for continuously being a d-bag?

  7. Ahhh by XSportSeeker · · Score: 1

    My schadenfreude quota has been filled with this and the Fyre festival news.

  8. Not enough by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    I'd prefer if he left the planet altogether.

  9. step in the right direction. by bonedonut · · Score: 1

    cool. now if he could just leave earth.

  10. Fascinating by Trogre · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Now, will someone please explain why this is on Slashdot.

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    1. Re:Fascinating by MightyYar · · Score: 2

      Because it's about something that will probably harm the hated-by-geeks sham "audiophile" service Tidal.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    2. Re:Fascinating by somenickname · · Score: 2

      Exactly. WTF is a Kanye West? WTF is a Tidal? WTF is a Jay-Z? The last one is presumably related to a function in Cartesian coordinate space, the first one is either a new geolocation paradigm or something akin to a Rusty Trombone but, I genuinely can't figure out what the middle one is.

    3. Re:Fascinating by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Copyright and online music. That's often on Slashdot.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    4. Re:Fascinating by fafalone · · Score: 1

      It's a miracle of technological convergence. Back in the old dark ages, nerds had to go to two different websites to read about the things they cared about, computers and the Kardashians and who they're having sex with. But no more! Slashdot's revolutionary innovation of covering both of the things nerds care about is a huge step forward in synergistic apps.

    5. Re:Fascinating by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Informative

      This is a fascinating and relevant follow up story to something that interested us all in the past. We covered the Kanye West exclusive online release of a major album in the past in relation to piracy, physical copies, and the general saturation of the online music industry.

      It was interesting at the time, and it's even more interesting to see it all fall in a heap.

    6. Re:Fascinating by Trogre · · Score: 2

      That's... actually pretty a good reason.

      I'll go sit down.

      Over there.

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    7. Re:Fascinating by c · · Score: 1

      I genuinely can't figure out what the middle one is.

      It's a wave of bullshit, obviously.

      --
      Log in or piss off.
    8. Re:Fascinating by coofercat · · Score: 2

      Let me try to help...

      Kanye West is Tidal, on account of it's proximity to the Pacific ocean. Kanye East is in-land, although has a lake along one edge of it, so looks 'watery' but is not Tidal.

      "jayzed" (or "jayzee", depending on which side of the Atlantic you happen to be on) is just a way of saying it's not the letters from A-I. As you know, AI is nearly magic, but clever people like Stephen Hawking have been warning of it's potential downsides.

      Rusty Trombone is a guy from New York, originally called Rusty Patterson, but changed his name on account of being a reasonably talented jazz musician (go look him up - he's on most of the music streaming sites).

      WTF is a government facility used by the EPA - it's a Water Testing Facility.

      I hope that clears things up for you.

    9. Re: Fascinating by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Kanye West is the Kardashian hanger on and would be musician Obama called a jackass for jumping on stage and saying Beyonce should have received the reward rather than Taylor Swift. Jay-Z is actually a highly talented and intelligent musician in a market where so few of them exist. He's got 99 problems, and now apparently a bitch IS one.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    10. Re:Fascinating by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 1

      Seriously? I'd love to see a pit open up and swallow Kayne, Jayz, Bey, Caitlyn, Kim, Kris, and the rest of the Kardashian pantheon, into the 9th level of the inferno too. I feel somewhat dirty even knowing the names of that many of their lot off the top of my head. But news of their "exploits" is all but impossible to miss, even in passing. Pretending total ignorance is not clever. And genuine total ignorance is contemptible.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
  11. Re:So... by Scarletdown · · Score: 4, Interesting

    All I want to know is does he still like fishsticks?

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    This space unintentionally left blank.
  12. Kanye makes Slashdot by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

    What's that sound I hear? Oh, that's just the four horsemen.

    --
    Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
    1. Re: Kanye makes Slashdot by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Actually Jay-Z and his streaming company made Slashdot. As usual, Kanye is just the "hanger on".

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    2. Re: Kanye makes Slashdot by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

      And Jay-Z has Down's Syndrome. I mean he does, right? Just high functioning. I mean he looks like so I always just figured. That's why he married Beyoncé, because she is traded. Or at least that's how she comes off, so I just always assumed.

      --
      Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
    3. Re: Kanye makes Slashdot by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Donald Trump, is that You? I mean who else is so fucking stupid that they would try to say a man far smarter than he has downs syndrome? I always think it is funny when some racist chump makes a comment that makes it clear he secretly wishes he could get some black ass and is jealous he can't get any ass at all. Unfortunately for you though, Jay-Z doesn't swing your way. Sorry tiny hands!

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  13. Re:tidal is fucking garbage by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    I only play lossless audio on my amazing Apple MacBook Pro (mid-2009; MacBookPro5,5). And even though there is a terrible hiss and series of pops from my headphone jack, I still wear my high-end studio headphones in order to optimize the experience that Apple has created for me.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  14. Here's my take on this by viperidaenz · · Score: 2

    Kayne and Tidal haven't been feature in the media lately.

    This is their attempt to get free publicity

  15. Good old days by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    None of the music services are as user-friendly as Napster used to be. Sure it was piracy, but it was easy to find all the music you wanted.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  16. Re:tidal is fucking garbage by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 1

    Why haven't you removed the audio jack from all your Apple devices? Please switch off your computer and await the arrival of the Apple Police.

  17. Best article in a long time... by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 1

    The only thing I can gather from this article is that the political trolls don't like rap. Its so peaceful. Pass the lemonade.

  18. Re:What we need is communism! by nnet · · Score: 1
    How is this article even remotely interesting to this crowd? You're pandering to your advertisers using clickbait articles, so look in the mirror before you presume to tell others to

    Shut up. Off topic. Plz discuss the news article

    Thanks.

  19. Not a slashdot story, for fuck's sake. by jcr · · Score: 1

    Remember when this site was supposed to be stuff that MATTERS?

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  20. So long... by NonUniqueNickname · · Score: 1

    Thus spake the Master Programmer: "When you have seen a TMZ story on the front page, it will be time for you to leave."

    ... and thanks for all the fish.