Digital music service Tidal has accused Apple of blocking it from streaming video of a charity-festival set by rapper Drake, but the star’s manager has retaliated by accusing the service of a “publicity stunt”.
Drake played a mini-set at the Lil WeezyAna festival in New Orleans over the weekend, with the event streamed live by Tidal for its subscribers. While Drake was on stage, the stream was cut, with Tidal blaming Apple.
“Apple is interfering with artistry and will not allow this artist to stream. Sorry for Big Brother’s inconvenience,” claimed a message shown to viewers, and also published by Tidal’s Twitter account.
The New York Post reported that Apple had threatened a $20m lawsuit if Drake’s set was broadcast by Tidal, on the grounds that it has an exclusive contract with the musician relating to its recently-launched Apple Music streaming service.
“Legal letters have been sent to Tidal warning that Drake cannot appear on the Tidal stream of the festival, either solo or part of a group, and if the warning was ignored, the liabilities could be up to $20 million,” claimed the Post’s source.
1/2 Apple is interfering with artistry and will not allow this artist to stream. Sorry for Big Brother’s inconvenience.
— TIDAL (@TIDALHiFi) August 29, 2015
The story was quickly challenged by Drake’s manager, Future the Prince, who flatly denied that Apple had threatened legal action.
“The decision to not have Drake participate in the Tidal steam has nothing to do with Apple or Drake’s deal. Point blank, 100%. I made a business decision,” he told BuzzFeed News.
“Apple doesn’t have the power to stop us from being part of a live stream... If you’re going to say something about the situation publicly, you should tell the truth. They saw the opportunity to take a situation and spin it in their favor as a publicity stunt.”
This kind of row may become more familiar in the months ahead, as Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify and other music-streaming services battle to strike exclusive deals with high-profile artists.
While few musicians will restrict their entire back catalogues to a single streaming service, more may sign agreements setting out promotional commitments to a particular service - for example, recording live sessions - that bar them from providing similar content to rivals.
Drake appeared on stage during the keynote session at Apple’s WWDC event in June, when the company unveiled Apple Music. “This is something that simplifies everything for the modern musician like myself, and the modern consumer like you,” he said during a short speech.
If the New York Post is to be believed, a $19m promotional deal may have simplified Drake’s decision to back Apple Music over rivals - although his music remains available on services like Spotify too.
