Jay-Z’s 4:44 will be available on Apple, but is already popular among pirates

Last week marked the release of 4:44, the much-anticipated new album from Jay-Z. The work was released as an exclusive to Tidal, which is owned by Jay-Z and Sprint, which bought a 33% stake at the start of 2017. The release has not been the smoothest of sailing, an indicator that exclusive album releases are still a contentious approach to distribution that require careful planning to be successful. Continue Reading

New Jay-Z album marks first exclusive for Tidal and Sprint

Jay-Z is releasing a new album at the end of the month, but it will be exclusive to his Tidal streaming platform. This new exclusive title, 4:44, marks the first such development for Tidal after its partnership with Sprint. In January, Sprint purchased a 33% stake in the streaming company. With this first shared exclusive, new customers of the telecom’s can have a six-month free trial of Tidal HiFi and listen to the new album for free. Continue Reading