A source close to Kanye West confirmed Thursday that Tidal's exclusivity rights to his music have been "terminated" over the streaming service's alleged failure to "honor its financial obligations." The source confirmed the termination to Billboard, meaning that—unless a new deal is arranged in the future—forthcoming releases from West will not debut as Tidal exclusives as last year's The Life of Pablo did.
Over the weekend, TMZ claimed the financial dispute centered on "more than $3 million" West feels he's owed. Their sources alleged that one of West's attorneys sent Tidal a letter in June telling them they were in breach of contract, sparking weeks of negotiations in which the two sides tried to bring the conflict to a mutually agreeable end.
Additionally, Tidal had reportedly threatened to sue West if he signed an exclusivity agreement with a different streaming service. West, however, may be done with such deals for good. According to their sources, the $3 million stems from a Life of Pablo bonus and reimbursement of music video production costs.
On Jay's new album 4:44, lyrics in "Kill Jay Z" have been interpreted as being inspired by recent West happenings:
But you got hurt because you did cool by 'Ye
Neither Kanye West or Jay Z have publicly commented on any of this.
