MINNEAPOLIS (CelebrityAccess) — In the ongoing legal battle for control over the Estate of the late rock star Prince, three of the singer’s siblings have filed a motion in court to break a contract between the estate and Jay-Z’s music streaming service TIDAL over exclusive rights to an unreleased album.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the filing said: “[We] are concerned that the Court has authorized a deal for the release and exclusive streaming of the first new vault album with an entity that is accused of manipulating its own streaming data to benefit certain artists at the expense of others.”
The filing from the siblings goes on to cite recent allegations that TIDAL inflated streaming numbers for key artists such as Beyoncé and Kanye West.
The siblings – Sharon, Norrine and John Nelson – also targeted Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in the filings, stating: “The estate has much to lose if it is stuck with the deal that has been authorized, especially if these allegations further tarnish Tidal and Roc Nation’s reputation in the marketplace.”
Following the motion, lawyers for the Estate described the siblings’ motion as “meritless” and asked for it to be denied.
The TIDAL deal is just one of a series of pacts the Prince Estate has sealed for the late pop icon’s catalogue. Variety reported last week that the Estate is in the midst of negotiations with Sony Music for rights to some of Prince’s catalogue and Warner Bros. is preparing to issue “Piano and a Microphone 1983” in September.
