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Jay-Z freestyle attack on Tidal's rivals leaked to Tidal's rivals

'Ain’t passed the Bar, but I know a little bit / Enough that you won’t illegally download my hit'

Criticism of Tidal competitors, delivered by Jay-Z in an exclusive live-streamed performance for subscribers, has ironically been leaked onto those competitors' sites.

Jay-Z's "B-Sides" concert has been uploaded to YouTube by an account we believe is unlikely to hold the rights to the recording.

This is not the first time Tidal content has appeared on YouTube, perhaps underlining why the site is one of the larger targets for the criticism that Jay-Z delivered in a freestyle at around the 17 minute mark.

The rapper and entrepreneur criticised what he regarded as musicians' meagre earnings from the various licensing schemes currently offered to them.

Jimmy Iovine offered a safety net,
Google dangle 'round a crazy cheque,
I feel like YouTube is the biggest culprit,
Them niggas pay you a tenth of what you supposed to get.

Jay-Z also seemed aware of criticism that Tidal's backers are very rich by musicians' standards, although his freestyle is unlikely to be a significant contribution to that debate:

Oh niggas is skeptical cause "they own shit",
You bought nine iPhones and Steve Jobs is rich,
Phil Knight's worth trillions, you still bought those kicks,
Spotify's nine billion and they ain't say shit.

Marina Diamandis of Marina & the Diamonds, said in a recent interview: "Why are all these people in it? Because of money. They want some type of share in it. I feel wrong about it and I'm an artist. Imagine if Jenny Lewis was in it or if all types of musicians were in that 'clan'. With more people, it'd feel like genuine artistry, but with just the biggest game players in the world, it's like, 'Hmm, I’m not sure'."

Jay-Z B-Sides Concert FULL (HD)

The subscription-based music streaming service Tidal has relied upon the demand for its celebrity backers' music to generate revenue, as it does not offer a freemium service which could draw users in.

Established partly as a result of criticism of other streaming websites, such as Spotify and Deezer, Tidal has so far struggled to compete with the companies targeted for criticism by Jay-Z. ®

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