The ongoing battle between Jay Z’s music streaming service TIDAL and the estate of late singer Prince took a new turn recently. The service’s owners said it has legal rights to stream Prince’s music after facing a judge over the matter, challenging whether the state had rights to do so in the first place.
Page Six writes:
The estate sued Tidal in November, accusing it of distributing Prince’s entire catalog, despite having agreed to license only a single album — “Hit N Run: Phase 1” — and for only 90 days.
Its suit also alleges that none of the Jay Z-affiliated entities have “provided any documentation substantiating the claim” they have rights to exploit any of Prince’s copyrighted works other than “Hit N Run.”
In answering the complaint this week, Tidal’s owners, Aspiro and Roc Nation, turned up the heat by challenging even the estate’s right to sue them in the first place.
Bremer Trust, which manages the Prince estate, “lacks the requisite authority to authorize the instant lawsuit,” they said.
The estate is also looking to work deals out with Apple and Spotify this week, opening Prince’s vast catalog to the wider streaming service market.
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Photo: WENN.com
