Tidal streaming data figures investigated by Norway

Author: Agencies

The streaming figures of music service Tidal are under investigation in Norway over claims the numbers of listeners to 2016 albums by Beyonce and Kanye West, among others, were inflated. The Norwegian authorities said they would explore whether “someone” had manipulated the figures but did not name any individuals or companies. Tidal’s lawyer said the platform was “not under suspicion in this case”. The company behind Tidal was bought by Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z, in 2015. The claims were made by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv (DN) last year. The Norwegian Authority for Investigation of Economic and Environmental Crime (Okokrim) said the move would have led Tidal to have paid disproportionate royalties to the singers’ record companies at the expense of other artists. At the time, the streaming service dismissed the claims as being “a smear campaign”. It says it is now communicating with Okokrim about the investigation, and has also engaged a cyber-security firm to review the security and integrity of its data. In 2015, Jay-Z paid $56m (£37m at the time) for Norwegian company Wimp, which developed Tidal. In 2017, he sold his stake to Sprint, which is owned by Japan’s Softbank. It was estimated to have paid $200m for a 33% stake.

Published in Daily Times, January 16th 2019.

Share
Leave a Comment

Recent Posts

  • Blogs

Declaration of an Educational Emergency

The Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan verbally announced the declaration of an…

2 hours ago
  • Pakistan

Film Production Manager Revolutionizes Industry with Innovative

Meet Film Production Manager Hassan Ayub, Entertainment Correspondent, born 11 November,1988 in Jhelum Pakistan. In…

2 hours ago
  • Business

Gold price per tola decreases Rs300

Gold prices decreased in Pakistan on Saturday in line with their decline in the international…

5 days ago
  • Business

Oil price deregulation can jeopardize national security: Hanif Mughal

Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Shadbad, Dr. Muhammad Hanif Mughal has said that the removal of the…

5 days ago
  • Business

Solar panel prices decline further in Pakistan

The prices of solar panels in Pakistan have experienced a substantial decline, making solar energy…

5 days ago
  • Business

Govt assures IMF of increases in electricity, gas tariffs from June

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has demanded Pakistan further increase gas prices on a half-yearly…

5 days ago