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Kanye West Reportedly Owed Millions, Plotting Swift Exit from TIDAL
Kanye West Reportedly Owed Millions, Plotting Swift Exit from TIDAL

Kanye West Reportedly Owed Millions From TIDAL, Plotting a Swift Exit

Kanye West Reportedly Owed Millions, Plotting Swift Exit from TIDAL

TIDAL tension is running high in the Def Jam family

When Jay-Z decided he was going to make a bid for his own hi-fi streaming service in 2015, he gathered the bodies and funds of music's biggest stars as a show of solidarity, and, more than anything, a show of the incredible purchasing power of a star-studded roundtable, which included himself, Beyonce, Lil Wayne, Daft Punk and perhaps the most contentious member of the TIDAL/Def Jam union, Kanye West.

Now, if you've been following the ripples flowing out from Mr. West's final days on the ill-fated Saint Pablo Tour , where he'd rant about Donald Trump, cut performances short and lament over his Jay-Z's kids not being friends, you probably understand that all is not well amongst Def Jam's top ranks. After releasing The Life of Pablo as a TIDAL exclusive and raking in one and a half million new subscribers for the service, West has claimed to be owed millions in bonuses. The dispute is referenced on the opening track to Jay-Z's second instant-platinum album in a row (thanks to a Sprint partnership) 4:44, "Kill Jay-Z," where the Roc-A-Fella founder airs out his grievances and references the 20-million-for-20-minutes advance he helped secure for his one-time protege.

But according to TMZ, not only is West alleging that he's still owed millions from the streaming service, but that he's stepping away from TIDAL for good. The report goes on to cite West's non-deliverance of videos in support of The Life of Pablo, though West claims he was never reimbursed for the videos, which were supposedly shot and ready to go. Legal action was threatened, but West appears to be sticking to his guns, promising to fire back should a motion be filed. How, or if, this moves forward is still up in the air. Be sure to stay tuned as the longtime friends hopefully come to some sort of an amicable conclusion to this tiff.