Pop star to remove all her songs from husband Jay Z's streaming service?

jonathan

May 29, 2015 11:51 AM

According to Bloomberg, Jay Z is yet to reach a music licencing agreement with Sony, the coporation which owns much of his wife's catalogue.

Jay Z's Tidal may suffer the ultimate embarrassment as he cannot pay off the 'huge' advance being sought by Sony for the rights to stream his wife Beyonce's music.

Beyoncé may be required to remove her music from her husband's streaming service.

According to Bloomberg, Jay Z is yet to reach a music licencing agreement with Sony, the coporation which owns much of his wife's catalogue.

The article further asserts that when the Roc Nation boss bought Tidal's Norwegian parent company Aspiro, he renegotiated streaming contracts of the three major record companies: Universal, Warner, and Sony.

Jay Z then scored a fast deal with Universal, which distributes the music of some of artists within Jay Z's own record label Roc Nation; while a source claimed he has recently just agreed to a streaming rights deal with Warner.

Sony though, is asking for 'huge advances' for permission to stream its artists' music - which includes all five of Beyonce's studio albums.

Bloomberg claims that Jay Z may have been counting on an investment deal with US mobile giant Sprint to cover these costs.

The rap mogul held extensive talks with its parent company, Japanese venture capital firm SoftBank, at the time of his Aspiro deal.

A subsequent story in the New York Post claimed that Sprint and SoftBank had purchased a minority stake in Tidal in a deal that valued the streaming company at about $250 million, almost five times what Jay Z had paid for it just a month earlier.

But immediately afterward Sprint issued a statement saying the two were 'working together in partnership for the vision of the common cause of reestablishing the value of music... It is NOT a financial investment or exclusive partnership.'

Out of 15 artists who each own an ownership stake in Tidal - who stood with Jay Z on stage when he unveiled Tidal at a press conference in March, seven of them have released studio albums under one of Sony's labels, including Alicia Keys, Daft Punk, Jack White, Calvin Harris, J Cole, Usher, and his dear wife, Beyonce.

“I’m pretty sure most of the artists that were at the press conference don’t control their own streaming rights,” Bloomberg quoted Peter Mensch, co-founder of talent agency Q Prime.

Tidal claims to have 900,000 users, but many of these may be fans who just signed up for a trial and will cancel when they have to start paying - which crucially in Tidal's model all users must do.

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

Get rewards worth up to $20 when selected to participate in our exclusive focus group. Your input will help us to make informed decisions that align with your needs and preferences.

I've got feedback!

jonathan