TIDAL vs.APPLE: DRAKE'S MANAGER CALLS TIDAL'S CLAIM A "PUBLICITY STUNT"

Apple did not stop Tidal from streaming Drake’s performance at a Hurricane Katrina benefit, despite a claim to the contrary from Jay Z’s streaming service. What’s more, Apple did not threaten Tidal with a $20m suit over said performance. We know these things because Drake's manager said so.

“The decision to not have Drake participate in the Tidal steam has nothing to do with Apple or Drake’s deal,” Drake’s manager Future the Prince told BuzzFeed. “Point blank, 100%. I made a business decision. Apple doesn’t have the power to stop us from being part of a live stream. The only people that have the power to do that are Cash Money and Universal, and they’re our partners.

“I don’t understand,” Future continued. “If you’re going to say something about the situation publicly, you should tell the truth. They saw the opportunity to take a situation and spin it in their favor as a publicity stunt.

“We wanted to make sure the stream represented us in the right way, and we didn’t have much insight into what they were doing,” Future said about the rationale for withholding Drake’s performance from the live stream of a benefit concert. “Aesthetics and quality are important to us and we didn’t have any control over that or time to investigate it. We were just there to participate in the benefit.”