TIDAL Denies Creating Fake Streams For Beyoncé & Kanye West
In a statement provided to HipHopDX, TIDAL has denied allegations in a new report by Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv, which claims the streaming service manipulated user data to create millions of fake streams for Beyoncé and Kanye West.
Last year, the outlet reported that JAY-Z’s company allegedly inflated its subscriber numbers.
“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,’” a TIDAL spokesperson told DX. “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.”
Music Business Worldwide has translated much of Dagens Næringsliv’ latest article into English, summing up its main accusation: “Beyoncé’s and Kanye West’s listener numbers on TIDAL have been manipulated to the tune of several hundred million false plays … which has generated massive royalty payouts at the expense of other artists.”
The report…