*Jay Z and Tidal are taking an active stance in addressing rumors of them being targeted in a $5 million class-action lawsuit connected with unpaid royalties.
The legal drama stems from a promise Jay Z made when unveiling his streaming service Tidal to the world. According to the rap mogul, Tidal would be the first company of its kind to take care of artists when it comes to having the highest royalty payouts for artists.
Despite Tidal’s intent, John Emanuele, a member of the band The American Dollar, and Yesh Music, LLC. have found fault as they claim in their lawsuit that the company did not live up to the contractual promise Jay Z made.
Responding to the suit and rumors of the legal battle emerging that surfaced on Monday (Feb. 29), Complex reports that Tidal dismissed the allegations later that day via the following statement:
“TIDAL is up to date on all royalties for the rights to the music stated in Yesh Music, LLC and John Emanuele’s claim and they are misinformed as to who, if anyone, owes royalty payments to them. As Yesh Music, LLC admits in their claim, TIDAL has the rights to the Master Recordings through its distributor Tunecore and have paid Tunecore in full for such exploitations. Their dispute appears to be over the mechanical licenses, which we are also up to date on payments via Harry Fox Agency our administrator of mechanical royalties.
“The entire catalogue in question streamed fewer than 13,000 times on TIDAL and its predecessor over the past year. We have now removed all music associated with Yesh Music, LLC and John Emanuele from the service. This is the first we have heard of this dispute and Yesh Music, LLC should be engaging Harry Fox Agency if they believe they are owed the royalties claimed. They especially should not be naming S Carter Enterprises, LLC, which has nothing to do with Tidal. This claim serves as nothing other than a perfect example of why America needs Tort reform.”
The lawsuit against Tidal comes amid news of Samsung and Spotify being in talks to buy the streaming company from Jay Z.
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