Jay Z Drops New Album
Jay-Z has released his latest album exclusively to Tidal subscribers for the time being. [4:44] should be available to other services after a week of exclusivity on Tidal.
After a monthlong teaser campaign involving no less than five advance video clips, Jay Z’s new album “[4:44]” finally dropped, three minutes before its scheduled release at midnight ET on June 30. The advance ads pledged that the album will be a Tidal/ Sprint exclusive — as part of the carrier’s $200 million deal with he Jay Z-owned streaming service. But in a twist that was met with an angry reaction from many fans, only people who signed up for Tidal before the album’s release and current Sprint users will be able to access it, at least for now. However, that’s not the only place you can hear it (legally, anyway).
Upon its release, the 10-track album streamed on iHeartRadio across 160 Pop, Rhythm and Urban radio stations in the U.S., and fans will be able to hear the entire album on Urban and Rhythm formats throughout the day until midnight ET on July 1. iHeart also featured exclusive audio from Jay Z discussing the album. (Variety will post a review of the album on Friday morning.)
A source tells Variety that the album will be available on Apple Music after a week of exclusivity on Tidal, and it seems very likely that it will be available on iTunes as well and it will probably be available on CD and vinyl at some point; another source says it will be available on all major services. Jay Z pulled his catalog, with a handful of exceptions, from Spotify and Apple Music in April. Reps for Tidal, Apple Music and Spotify declined or did not respond to Variety’s request for comment.
The exclusive epidemic of 2014-16 has largely abated, as the realization crept in that the only winners in that arms race were the streaming service with the exclusive and the artist and/or label who pocketed whatever benefits came with it. Spotify never joined in the exclusive wars — as the established market leaders, they didn’t need to — and Apple Music recently has focused more on its burgeoning video service and premieres on its Beats 1 radio station. A key turning point came last August when Frank Ocean delivered an uneven album called “Endless” to finish off his contract with Def Jam, only to release “Blonde,” a much more satisfying album, via Apple Music just two days later. The act inspired Lucian Grainge, chairman/CEO of Def Jam’s parent Universal Music Group, to ban exclusives by the company’s artists.
But Tidal has doubled down on them — according to reports, $75 million of the Sprint deal is dedicated to exclusives — with limited success. For around 18 months, Prince’s catalog was available exclusively on the service — a situation that ended in February — and Kanye West’s “Life of Pablo,” which was marred by a baffling release strategy that was apparently directed by the artist himself, was a Tidal exclusive for a few weeks before it suddenly appeared on other services. In April Jay Z pulled nearly his entire catalog (with a handful of exceptions) from Spotify and Apple Music.
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