50 Cent just gave a perfect explanation for why people shouldn't buy Jay Z's Tidal
During an interview with Los Angeles radio station REAL 92.3, the rapper was asked his thoughts on the controversial Tidal.
"They probably could've did something more exciting if they reached out, because the people you saw there don't even own the rights to their music," he explained. "So they can't say it's gonna come out of Tidal. It has to go everywhere."
The main point the rapper makes is: "Why would you actually buy Tidal to get something that would be everywhere else?"
In March, Jay Z debuted Tidal with a star-studded presentation that included Usher, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Arcade Fire, Beyoncé, and many others.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation"Usher was there and Madonna and all these people. That's a little bit more of a, when you say, 'It was business,' it's more of a corporate play," 50 Cent explained. "When the record is playing on the air, they say, 'Oh, all right. Let's get this guy.'"
"The companies have contracts and companies are gonna do everything to get the maximum performance out of the music," he added. "They're not going to just put it through Tidal as a service."
In January, Jay Z bought Tidal for a reported $56 million, with the intention of creating the world's first streaming platform owned by musicians, which will pay established musicians for playing their songs.
For upwards of $9.99 per month, subscribers can also receive some exclusive content, like Beyoncé's recent track that coincided with her and Jay Z's wedding anniversary.
Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard told The Daily Beast in April: "I think they totally blew it by bringing out a bunch of millionaires and billionaires and propping them up onstage and then having them all complain about not being paid. That's why this thing is going to fail miserably."
Mumford and Sons front man Marcus Mumford added: "We want people to listen to our music in their most comfortable way, and if they're not up for paying for it, I don't really care."
Singer Lily Allen, too, tweeted: "I love Jay Z so much, but TIDAL is so expensive compared to other perfectly good streaming services... He's taken the biggest artists & made them exclusive to TIDAL (am i right in thinking this ?), people are going to swarm back to pirate sites in droves sending traffic to torrent sites. Up and coming (not yet millionaires) artists are going to suffer as a result… my concern is that Tidal may set emerging artists back."
Watch 50 Cent's recent remarks below (4:55)