Jay-Z’s Freestyle Take on Tidal’s Competitors: Apple, YouTube, and Spotify.

Competition in the music streaming industry has reached a unique crescendo with Jay-Z’s assertive freestyle challenges against prominent competitors, all while speaking in his role as the CEO of Tidal, a newcomer to the scene. During a live performance in New York, the rapper targeted the music streaming giants Apple, YouTube, and Spotify, making his stand clear to an audience of approximately 3,000 people.

In case you missed the audacity of his remarks, here’s a look at some of the fiery statements Jay-Z, aka Mr. Carter, delivered:

“I feel like YouTube is the biggest culprit. Them fellows pay you a tenth of what you’re supposed to get. You know people die for equal pay, right? You know when I work I ain’t your slave, right?”

“You bought nine iPhones, and Steve Jobs is rich. [Nike’s] Phil Knight worth trillions, you still bought those kicks. Spotify is $9 million, they didn’t say anything.”

“You got some explaining to do,” he told the crowd of hip-hop fans. “The only one they’re hating on looks the same as you. I know they’re trying to bamboozle you. Spending millions on media trying to confuse you. I had to talk to myself, Hov get used to it. It’s politics as usual.”

The music-streaming platform, [Tidal](http://tidal.com/), supports multiple languages including Polish and Norwegian. A noteworthy acquisition by Project Panther Ltd, owned by Carter himself, took place in the first quarter of 2015. Furthermore, Tidal’s parent company Aspiro was also acquired, enabling the platform to gain significant foothold in the market.

According to Wikipedia, Tidal was promoted as the first artist-owned streaming service. A laudable initiative, each artist publicly signed a declaration, stating: “Throughout history, every movement began with a few individuals banding together with a shared vision – a vision to change the status quo.” Both the relaunch and introduction of an artist-owned model drew mixed reviews. While some praised the impressive audio quality and potentially higher artist royalties, others criticised the high subscription fees and exclusive Tidal content, citing concerns about increased music piracy.

As of March 2015, the platform reportedly has over 580,000 paying users, having integrated with its sister service, WiMP. Tidal currently operates in 31 countries, with 17,000 users subscribed to its high-fidelity service.


But, has any other platform officially declared to challenge Tidal? According to the tech news website [Cult-of-Mac](http://www.cultofmac.com/), it has been rumored that Apple impeded updates for Tidal’s iOS app, resulting in the app dropping out of the top 700 iPhone apps list since its March 30 launch.

Moreover, Robert Kondrk, Vice President of iTunes Content, supposedly informed executives at Universal Music Group that Tidal artists releasing exclusive music on Jay Z’s service won’t be promoted as featured artists on iTunes.

Perhaps most interestingly, there’s speculation that Apple’s very own Dr. Dre might craft a freestyle retort, likely on home turf in California. Given the brewing tension, the future of the music streaming industry certainly remains an exciting and unpredictable realm.