It is no secret that all the music streaming services view each other as competitors, although the rivalry between Apple Music and TIDAL is interesting given that both services involve legends in the hip-hop scene, Dr. Dre and Jay-Z respectively. That being said, it seems that TIDAL has recently accused Apple of blocking its livestream of Drake’s recent performance.
Basically TIDAL was livestreaming a charity music event that helped to raise money for children affected by Hurricane Katrina. The entire event was livestreamed on TIDAL’s website, at least until Drake’s performance where they cut the stream and displayed the message above, which basically accuses Apple of interfering.
However according to a report from BuzzFeed, it seems that this had nothing to do with Apple at all. Drake’s manager Future the Prince told BuzzFeed, “The decision to not have Drake participate in the Tidal steam [sic] has nothing to do with Apple or Drake’s deal. Point blank, 100%. I made a business decision. Apple doesn’t have the power to stop us from being part of a live stream. The only people that have the power to do that are Cash Money and Universal, and they’re our partners.”
However it is easy to see how they could have accused Apple. The company has an exclusivity deal with Drake, but whether or not that exclusivity extends to live performances is unclear. The accusation is also rather worrying as regulators have been keeping an eye on Apple Music for possible antitrust violations for situations exactly like this.
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