Jay Z’s album revives debate over Tidal service

As if he’s not busy enough with his new twins, Beyoncé’s husband Jay Z announced this week that he’ll release his new album, 4:44, on June 30.

The platinum-selling rapper will deliver his first studio album in nearly four years through an exclusive arrangement with the streaming service he co-owns, Tidal, in partnership with the phone carrier Sprint.

The news was a marketing coup for Sprint and Tidal, and one with which Jay Z is relatively familiar. His last work, 2013’s Magna Carta Holy Grail, was first made available to customers of Samsung.

This time, Sprint has pledged to donate $2 from every new line activation to its charitable arm dedicated to providing low-income high school students with Internet access.

But the move has appeared to irk a lot of Jay Z’s fans, many of whom are still smarting from an earlier initiative: pulling all of his albums from Tidal’s competitor, Spotify, in April.

Jay Z isn’t the first to exclusively deliver his new work to a particular music streaming platform for an indeterminate period.

Canada’s Drake has a multi-tiered arrangement with Apple Music, as does Taylor Swift. Beyoncé also issued her most recent album, Lemonade, as a Tidal exclusive.

Fans who are committed to a competing service aren’t the only losers, said Laura Martin, senior entertainment analyst for investment banking firm Needham & Co.

“I think this is bad for the music business,” she said.

One Twitter user made a prediction: “Jay-Z’s next album will be exclusive to TIDAL and Sprint customers for 6 months. Guess which album will be the most pirated of the year?”