Entrepreneurial genius and music mogul Jay Z recently filed suit against former owners of TIDAL music streaming service due to claims of faulty subscriber numbers.
The rapper-turned businessman has been given several nicknames throughout his career, but money-collector may be the latest. According to USA Today, the suit was first reported by Norwegian press as a proceeding seeking $15 million from Scandinavian company Aspiro, and major shareholders — Norway’s Schibsted Media Group and a Stockholm-based private equity fund, Verdane Capital.
The mogul launched TIDAL in 2015, making headlines with other high-profile artists in the industry such as Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Jack White because of its successful debut of the $56 million deal with Aspiro. The service reportedly gained 1 million followers in September 2015.
According to the Business Insider, Jay Z, the leader of the ROC Nation, has written to several of the former major shareholders at TIDAL and Aspiro, accusing them of providing faulty numbers regarding the amount of subscribers the service had when his finance vehicle, Project Bidco, bought the company.
The company said it conducted a personal audit and found that the number of subscribers was well below the 540,000 reported by the prior owners, according to a statement provided to USA Today.
“As a result, we have now served legal notice to parties involved in the sale. While we cannot share further comment during active legal proceedings, we’re proud of our success and remain focused on delivering the best experience for artists and fans.”
Schibsted’s spokesperson, Anders Rikter, told Norways’ Break It News that because the company is a publicly traded company, its financial reporting is transparent, and therefore they have no further comment regarding the suit.
