Kanye West has left Jay Z‘s streaming service Tidal due to a dispute over money, it has been confirmed.
TMZ first reported that sources close to Tidal revealed that West is unhappy with the service, claiming they owe him over $3 million. A letter was reportedly sent by West’s lawyers to Tidal a month ago, stating that the company was in breach of their contract, and that it would be terminated. After a two-week back-and-forth, no resolution was found.
A source close to West has now confirmed the news to Billboard, who report that “Tidal’s exclusivity rights have been terminated based on what is alleged to be Tidal’s failure to honour its financial obligations”.
The dispute frames Kanye’s ‘The Life Of Pablo’ album, which brought 1.5 million new subscribers to Tidal – a swell in users which was supposed to see Kanye granted a bonus, which Tidal is still yet to pay. It also concerns a number of music videos, which Kanye reports Tidal are yet to reimburse him for.
As a result of all of this, Tidal are claiming that Kanye is still under contract with the service, and have reportedly threatened to sue should he sign to another streaming company – a threat which Kanye has responded to by stating he will counter-sue.
The news comes following the release of Jay Z’s new album ‘4:44’ earlier this week, which features lines thought to be a diss on Kanye.
The pair’s friendship seems to have grown strained in recent years – West criticised Jay on stage late last year, claiming that his former friend hadn’t called him since his wife Kim Kardashian was the victim of an armed robbery in Paris. Kanye also alleged that Jay-Z had the power to put a hit out on him.
During that same rant, West made his grievances with Tidal clear. The rapped declared that the long-rumoured sequel to their collaborative ‘Watch The Throne’ album would never see release, citing “this Tidal/Apple bullshit” as the reason.