Prince estate sues Jay Z’s Roc Nation over streaming rights

Prince estate sues Jay Z’s Roc Nation over streaming rights

Prince's estate sued Jay Z's company Roc Nation for copyright infringement over Tidal’s claim of having exclusive streaming rights for Prince’s music - according to "The Star Tribune". The complaint, as "Pitchfork" reports, says that Tidal was only granted a 90-day window to stream in excluse the artist’s 2015 album "HITNRUN Phase One".

NPG Records also states that there were no other agreements between the parts and that Tidal “is exploiting many copyrighted Prince works”. The complaint cites the news of Tidal making 15 Prince albums available to stream as an example of infringement. It’s lamented that Tidal did not attempt to communicate with Prince’s estate after his death. The estate is seeking damages and attorneys’ fees.

Tidal has long been the sole streaming service to offer Prince’s music. Indeed, in July 2015 Prince’s music vanished from all streaming services except Tidal. In May of last year, Prince streamed his “Rally 4 Peace” Baltimore concert exclusively on Tidal. When "HITNRUN Phase Two" was released last December, it was initially only available on Tidal.