Jay Z’s classic debut studio album, Reasonable Doubt, disappeared last night from Spotify‘s catalogue in the US and UK.
The take-down took place just one week after the rapper and entrepreneur relaunched ‘CD quality’ Spotify rival Tidal in New York (Monday, March 30).
Over the weekend, Tidal got its first two major artist exclusives: a new Beyonce track, Die With You, and Rihanna’s next single, American Oxygen.
At the time of writing, both tracks continue to be unavailable on Spotify and iTunes, but are available to listen to / watch via numerous fan accounts on YouTube.
Ranked at No.248 on Rolling Stone’s Great Albums Of All Time, Jay Z’s Reasonable Doubt was originally released in 1996 on Roc-A-Fella Records.
It contains the singles Can’t Knock The Hustle, Dead Presidents, Ain’t No N*gga and Feelin’ It.
The rest of Jay Z’s catalogue, including his best-selling albums Vol 2… Hard Knock Life (1998), Vol 3… The Life And Times Of Shawn Carter (1999) and The Black Album (2003) remain on Spotify.
Last Wednesday (April 1), Jay Z held a Tidal-focused Q&A with students at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.
When asked if consumers would ultimately have to choose between Tidal and other services such as Spotify, he replied:
“At some point they’ll be faced with that decision… [Tidal] isn’t just about music; it’s also about concert ticketing. It’s a holistic place where the artists will live in.
“You may be able to download a song for free, but you’re not getting into concerts for free. There are different things that we offer. It’s not just songs — we’re offering value.”Music Business Worldwide
