Jordan O'BrienDrake is too big for Jay-Z’s Tidal it seems, with the rapper reportedly having ditched the music streaming service just two days before its launch.
Why would Drake pull out at the last minute? Well, according to Billboard, the artist was courted by Apple to help it launch its music streaming service that will reportedly launch at WWDC next week.
Apple’s service, which is yet to be named or officially announced, will supposedly utilise celebrities to curate playlists in order to draw fans to the service.
Former BBC DJ Zane Lowe will be spearheading this effort, according to sources.
Drake won’t be the only major R&B/Hip Hop artist at Apple however, as Pharrell Williams is also being linked with the Cupertino-based iPhone maker.
It’s not known how much Apple paid to get artists on-board, but the New York Post claims that Drake was offered as much as $19 million, around £12.5 million, to jump ship from Tidal.
Jay-Z confirmed in a Q&A on March 30 with Billboard that Jimmy Iovine, the man behind Beats by Dr Dre, had been attempting to court many of the artists that he was trying to get to join Tidal.
Apple’s music service may be set to launch next week, but it hasn’t been without its hurdles. The company is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission over reports that it has been pressuring major labels to phase out Spotify’s free subscription tier.
Spotify is still the market leader in the music streaming space, although Apple will reportedly price match its service with both set to cost around $10 a month in the US, although UK pricing for Apple’s service is as of yet unknown.