*According to reports, TIDAL has “received about 100 payment default records” and its parent company, the Swedish-based Aspiro, has posted a $28 million dollar loss in the year since Jay Z purchased the streaming service back in March 2015, WSJ reports.
The publication (Wall Street Journal) also notes that losses continue to mount and Aspiro is burning through cash amid intense competition with rivals such as Spotify AB, Apple Music and YouTube.
Jay Z filed suit against Aspiro in March seeking about $15 million. At the time, the issue was the number of subscribers. The music mogul and his team learned only after taking control of the company that the number of subscribers was actually “well below the 540,000 reported to us by the previous owners.”
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After Kanye West exclusively dropped his album “The Life Of Pablo” on Tidal, it had a little over 3 million users. When Beyoncé released “Lemonade” exclusively on Tidal, the company claimed to have gained 1.2 million new users.
According to USA Today, the financial statement reveals a company struggling to pay its bills. A source familiar with the matter said the financial statement doesn’t reflect all U.S. revenue and financing. A board assessment concluded the company lacked funding for 2016 but added that the company “will be able to secure new financing.”
Esquire.com notes that among the number of problems that plague the music streaming service are: slow song loading times and poor quality in spite of an exaggerated price. Subscribers also complain about a poor user interface and feeling scammed by the company for promising a complimentary trial subscription then making it difficult to cancel said subscription before it automatically starts charging. Subscribers were also displeased with Kanye updating “The Life of Pablo” with new songs right as the 30-day free trial ended.
