Kanye West and Tidal Sued Over The Life of Pablo Not Actually Being a Tidal Exclusive

Kanye West and streaming service Tidal have been sued for allegedly deceiving fans into subscribing to what was billed as the only place they would be able to hear West’s new album, The Life of Pablo. The proposed class-action lawsuit, obtained by Pitchfork and first reported by the AP, claimed West falsely told fans the album would be exclusive to Tidal. The lawsuit was filed today in a federal court in San Francisco on behalf of Justin Baker-Rhett, described in the complaint as a fan of West’s music. Originally released via Tidal in February, Pablo became available on all major non-Tidal streaming services on March 31, landing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. 

The lawsuit claimed that millions signed up for Tidal because West promised it would be the exclusive place to hear his new album. Baker-Rhett requested a judge force Tidal to delete data on users who subscribed to hear Pablo. The lawsuit argued the new subscribers and their information could be worth up to $84 million. The lawsuit cites West’s tweets, including one from February 15 that said the album will “never be on Apple” and “you can only get it on Tidal.”

My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale… You can only get it on Tidal.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016

Jay Edelson, a lawyer for Baker-Rhett, told Pitchfork: “Mr. Baker-Rhett believes that superstars are required to follow the same rules as everyone else. Even if their streaming service is struggling, they can’t trick millions of people into paying money (and giving up personal information) just to boost valuation numbers.”

Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Tidal and West for comment.

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