Jay-Z, co-owner of Tidal, has pulled the plug on his entire catalogue from his competitor Spotify as of April 7. All that remains for Spotify of the hip-hop legend’s work are few collaborative albums with R Kelly and five singles that are all collaborations as well. The R Kelly albums include Unfinished Business (2004) and Best of Both Worlds (2002). The collaborative singles include “N—-s in Paris” (Kanye featuring Jay), “Numb/Encore” (Linkin Park with Hova), “All the Way Up” (Fat Joe and Remy Ma ft. French Montana, Infared and Jay-Z), “Clique” (Big Sean with Jay-Z and Kanye) and “Dirt Off Your Shoulders” (with Notorious B.I.G.).
Through a statement with Billboard, Spotify confirmed that “some of his (Jay-Z’s) catalog has been removed at the request of the artist.”
The sudden decision to remove his music from Spotify could be tied in with Tidal’s standings in streaming ranks. Although the launch of Tidal was back in 2015 they are thought to trail their competitors substantially. According to Billboard, their estimated subscribers are under 3 million, which trails Spotify (50 million), Apple Music (20 million) and Amazon (10 million).
Update (4/10): Jay-Z has returned most of his material to Apple Music, after removing it on Friday. However, all three of the Blueprint albums and Reasonable Doubt are still not available. There has been no changes made to his decision in regards to Spotify.
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