TIDAL co-owner Jay-Z previously removed his music from competing platforms back in April 2017, but the most recent news sees the rapper's music making a return to Apple Music. In the label info, the albums are listed under S. Carter Enterprises, LLC with distribution by Roc Nation; which lines up with how the Brooklyn rapper’s music is credited on TIDAL.
All of his solo albums are now available on the platform, with an exception to his 1997 album Reasonable Doubt. It’s unclear why Jay’s albums have returned to Apple Music two years after he pulled most of his catalog from both Apple Music and Spotify. It’s also unknown why the albums are still not available on Spotify.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
However, JAY-Z and Beyoncé did make their 2018 joint project, Everything Is Love, available on Apple Music and Spotify’s paid subscription just a few days after releasing it as a TIDAL exclusive. Additionally, Beyoncé recently made her 2016 album, Lemonade, available across all streaming platforms in conjunction with the debut of her Netflix documentary, Homecoming.
Back in August 2018, the artist's collaborative album with Kanye West, Watch the Throne, briefly reappeared on Spotify before disappearing just a few days later with no public explanation on the whole ordeal.
It’s been a tough battle for TIDAL in its attempt to compete with the streaming giants that are Spotify and Apple Music. In May 2018, a report in Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv claimed that TIDAL artificially inflated the streaming numbers for both Lemonade and Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo.