A lawsuit was filed in New York on Thursday by rapper Lil Wayne’s label company Cash Money Records against rapper Jay-Z’s streaming services including Aspiro and WiMP Music, which operates a streaming service known as Tidal. The lawsuit alleges that Defendants wrongfully engaged in the early release of Lil Wayne’s newest album, and that Defendants are hurting CMR’s investments in Lil Wayne.
In CMR’s court filings, it alleges the following of Defendant streaming companies:
[Defendant’s actions] are a desperate and illegal attempt to save their struggling streaming service which has failed to gain traction since its much publicized launch in March 2015 … Defendants have been, and are continuing to, feature and promote [Dwayne Michael] Carter (also known as Lil Wayne) recordings throughout the world via defendants’ fledgling digital streaming music service known as Tidal … all in brazen defiance of [Cash Money Records’] exclusive rights under the exclusive recording agreement.
In response, it is claimed on Tidal’s behalf that CMR does not have exclusive rights to all of Lil Wayne’s music, and that Lil Wayne entered into a partnership with Tidal to promote some of his music in return for part ownership in the company.
CMR is claiming $50 million in damages. It is also currently facing a $51 million lawsuit filed by Lil Wayne himself after CMR allegedly refused to pay $10 million owed to Lil Wayne following the completion of his album “The Carter V.”