Earlier this month, Prince’s heirs requested a judge pull the plug on the deal between the Prince estate and Tidal to debut the legend’s first posthumous album. The judge has now denied the request, allowing the deal to stand as is.
On June 18, a lawyer for three of Prince’s siblings, Sharon, Norrine, and John Nelson, requested a reconsideration of the deal because the streaming service had been accused of "inflating the streaming numbers.”
Two days later, the Prince estate filed a response to the request, asking it to be denied.
"The Nelsons fail to raise any issue that merits reconsideration," the letter reads. "The Nelsons’ request is based on accusations about Tidal reported in one newspaper article in Norway over six weeks ago. The Nelsons’ letter fails to acknowledge that Tidal has denied the allegations as 'lies and falsehoods,' and has stated that information 'was stolen and manipulated.'"
The accusation that Tidal had been "deliberately faking" streaming numbers for artists like Beyoncé and Kanye West originated from the Norwegian outlet Dagens Næringsliv. The company denied these allegations, telling Complex they were part of a larger anti-TIDAL smear campaign.
"This is a smear campaign from a publication that once referred to our employee as an 'Israeli Intelligence officer' and our owner as a 'crack dealer.' We expect nothing less from them than this ridiculous story, lies, and falsehoods. The information was stolen and manipulated and we will fight these claims vigorously,” the company said.
In May, the Prince estate and Tidal announced their agreement to compile and stream an album of new and unreleased Prince songs in 2019, with JAY-Z overseeing the compilation process.
The Prince estate and Sony Music Entertainment's announced their exclusive distribution deal on Wednesday, which includes 35 of the singer's previously released albums.
