Jay Z to sue former Tidal owners for Ksh1.5 billion

Jay Z has sued former Tidal owners for inflating the number of worldwide subscribers.

The rapper who acquired the struggling streaming service over a year ago suspects that the former ownership may have misstated the subscribers’ number.

In a letter sent to Tidal’s former major shareholders and seen by TNW, Jay Z’s legal team said: “Panther has learned that the actual number of subscribers at that point in time was significantly lower and that the amount represented in the due diligence documents were greatly overstated.”

Jay Z says the business was in worse condition than statements led him to believe.

The site’s former owners, however, rejected the claim.

“We disagree with the accusations in the letter and any potential claims,” a Schibsted spokesman said as quoted by TNW.

“The buyer also did a due diligence of the company. It is worth noting that this was more than one year ago.”

In March 2015, Jay Z purchased Tidal from a Norwegian media group, Schibsted ASA, for USD56 million (Ksh5.7 billion) Since then, the service has been blasted for non-payment of royalties, questionable decisions, general apathy from ownership and most recently, acquisition talks.

Samsung later denied its interest in acquiring Tidal.

Tidal representatives are said to have served legal notice to the parties involved that the March 2015 sale reported 540,000 users, while an internal audit revealed only 17,000 of those were subscribing directly to Tidal.

Another 391,000 had access to the service via partnership agreements with cellphone providers and TV subscription packages.

Jay Z has sued Tidal for USD15 million (Ksh1.5 billion)