Prince’s Unreleased Music Was Never Available for Jay Z to Buy for Tidal
It looks like Jay Z's latest music industry power move is about to fall short. According to sources at TMZ, Prince's estate has refused his $40 million offer to purchase the Purple Rain artist's unreleased music.
Jay first made his offer for the late music legend's unreleased catalog last month, but apparently Prince's estate was never going for it. TMZ reports that the folks responsible for handling Prince's music and other intellectual properties didn't appreciate TIDAL's handling of his available music. The streaming service made Prince's 15 albums available for listening just two months after his death, and the estate says TIDAL wasn't authorized to post the music. It looks like Jay might have to hand over some cash to the estate in the near future. We doubt it'll be chump change.
What's weird about the new report is that an advisor for Prince's estate, L. Londell McMillan, said back in October that "there is no sale [of Prince’s music assets], and those responsible for the assets are not in discussions with anyone regarding a sale.” Can't say no to an offer that was never on the table.
With that said, things aren't all doom and gloom for the Roc Nation boss, as it appears he could be on the verge of signing a rap legend. This past weekend, Lil Wayne performed at the Camp Flog Gnaw festival and altered some of his lyrics to seemingly announce his allegiance to Hov and Roc Nation. For his performance, he replaced the lyric “I’m a motherfucking Cash Money millionaire" with “I’m a motherfucking Roc-A-Fella millionaire,” prompting speculation that he's officially signed with Hov. Keep it locked with XXL for more updates on that story.
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