TIDAL has released a statement today (February 29) after reports surfaced that the streaming company was being sued for $5 million. John Emanuele filed the case with his company, Yesh Music LLC, stating that TIDAL did not pay independent artists proper royalties and violated copyright. The suit names Jay Z‘s company, S. Carter Enterprises, as a defendant.
“TIDAL is up to date on all royalties for the rights to the music stated in Yesh Music, LLC and John Emanuele’s claim and they are misinformed as to who, if anyone, owes royalty payments to them,” the statement says. “As Yesh Music, LLC admits in their claim, TIDAL has the rights to the Master Recordings through its distributor Tunecore and have paid Tunecore in full for such exploitations. Their dispute appears to be over the mechanical licenses, which we are also up to date on payments via Harry Fox Agency our administrator of mechanical royalties.
“The entire catalogue in question streamed fewer than 13,000 times on TIDAL and its predecessor over the past year,” it continues. “We have now removed all music associated with Yesh Music, LLC and John Emanuele from the service. This is the first we have heard of this dispute and Yesh Music, LLC should be engaging Harry Fox Agency if they believe they are owed the royalties claimed. They especially should not be naming S Carter Enterprises, LLC, which has nothing to do with Tidal. This claim serves as nothing other than a perfect example of why America needs Tort reform.”
(This article was first published today [February 29, 2016] at 7:00 a.m. PST and is as follows.)
Jay Z and TIDAL hit with lawsuit over copyright infringement and underpayment of royalties.
The Jasmine Brand reports that musician John Emanuele has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Jay Z’s S. Carter Enterprises and two other companies behind TIDAL due to what he claims is copyright infringement and underpayment of royalties.
According to Emanuele, TIDAL is illegally profiting off of artists’ work by adding music from independent artists without licensing or receiving authorization from those artists.
“Ironically, when Defendant Carter purchased the Tidal Music Service in 2015, it claimed it would be the first streaming service to pay the artists. Different owner, same game,” Emanuele said, according to The Jasmine Brand.
Additionally, Emanuele claims that TIDAL underpaid royalties and has not provided artists with monthly accounting reports.
The $5 million Emanuele and his company, Yesh Music LLC are suing Jay Z and TIDAL for stems from the $150,000 they’re seeking in damages per infringement.
For additional Jay Z coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
TIDAL just keeps getting deeper in the hole of failure.
meanwhile u struggling with ur rent.. stfu b and jus sleep till u die
No worries, Hov will beat this case in his sleep. Nas would probably kill himself if he got struck with this.
Kelis is that you? Bitch you getting 20k a month from Nas. Just shut up
Meh… Not your best stuff. Or are you the fake Queensbridge again?
No Worries, HOV will just give him half of his money, like how he did with that Swiss jazz player for that Versus track. Of course that money will come from Beyonce’s couch cushions on the Formation tour. You Nas stans will never understand why HOV is such a great businessman and Nas is still broke.
More news comes out about the company not paying royalties, shocker…. Last time I pointed this out people didn’t seem to agree but I’m sure the jay fans will still blindly defend this and say super original shit like “men shouldn’t be jealous that’s a female trait,” “hov’s not a business man, he’s a business man,” or my favorite “hov stay winning.”
the jay hive strikes again! you take these dumb trolls too serious…. smh
the only female here is you getting your panties all in a bunch over some dude who could give a fuck less about you… thanks for taking the bait lame…. hold that L tight before you go to bed……
Dude lemme start on yo ass: 1. What music you making or what is your actual contribution to this? If nothing then you a female
2. This is america, so sorry but that whole good guy in 1st place shit not happening. Obama is a prime example of putting lipstick on a pig and everyone stupid enough to believe lies
3. How the fuck is this actually important, oh cuz lazy motherfuvkers really on music to gy them somewhere in life instead of actual work. My dude log off and kill yoself wit yo entitled ass
Rely* get*
When have i ever stated that jay cares bout me ? Lol thats why you is a female, if you cant argue or stay along the subject matter then by def. You is a female, i could care less bout jays money cuz thats his money. What you over bitching bout bro?oops i mean female ? Yea nothing ,so keep them L’s to yoself since wit yo lame ass. Fyi you petty right? Thats right my lil girl, female til you die i guess
coming from someone who has avoided the subject matter just to call me that “by def. You is a female,” nice typing job by the way, you continue to show your lack of argument about the original topic which was tidal….. not only that but you type like you’re 12 and maybe you are, if so this would all make sense, but in closing, don’t worry you’re not the first guy to suffer back to back L’s in life and you’re young you’ll bounce back…..
Thats right my girl keep it up, get that scholarship and become the chief of grammar patrol since its a great importance on a hiphop website. Again whats your contribution to TIDAL? Dont answer cuz we kno my girl, we kno
yawn, the same response that you have been posting. if i’ve seen one than i have seen them all. you’s a female, you’s a female, what have you contributed to tidal? thanks for proving my point that all jay stans accuse people of being females and brag about jay’s success in past ventures (see my original post for details) three-peat over, i’m out lame
jay always wins in the end
A bunch of the digital distribution agreements include streaming on non paying sites. Unless you or your record company explicitly ops out ur music can get streamed.
???? I don’t think they’d (TIDAL & Jay) be getting love from the people they do if TIDAL wasn’t legit. Not to mention when you become the focal point of attacks then you’re doing something right. The article says nothing about this artist attempting to reach out to TIDAL to figure out the issue. Seems like another attempt to slander a real competitor. “The industry shady it needs to be taken over”-The Blueprint
It could be Samsung bout to drop that load on him an apple bout to get turned into a phone only Isis uses
TIDAL could legitimately turn into a monopoly. How will the government regulate intellectual property? Is the Supreme Court going to say “you can’t put your music wherever you want. This is in the name of free market competition.”? Mmmm I think not… TIDAL is a problem for its competitors!!!
This is only the first of many to come, where there is smoke there is fire and the rumors of him trying to unload this company have been rampant since late last year. His personal assets will not be on the line here but his reputation will be destroyed if this turns out to be true. TIDAL will have to undergo a forensic audit which then becomes public record unless a private settlement is reached.
I give Tidal a year, maybe two before it crashes to the ground…there are many other better options out there for streaming. This is just the latest goof-up for Jay Z’s venture…many more will come.
anybody can log in under your name and leave anything on this site. See? How easy this is?
It’s funny how niggas come in here to bash Jay Z and pray for the downfall of Tidal because they can bootleg it…..gtfoh…
Even if Tidal was failing (which it’s not), all these artists would just move on and make money in other endeavors, especially Jay Z.
But an L for Jay Z might be a win in your pathetic lives and helps you sleep better at night.
I enjoy my subscription to tidal and make the most of it, hell I’ve even made money off of it…..lol…not going to say how because to many crab in a barrel ass niggas on here.
Ahh typical f$ck you in the business world
most overrated untalented arrogant bastard on the planet, he should be sued because of his attitude, and the horrible music he makes, oh yea and don’t forget he shot his own brother