Jay Z alleges smear tactics in Tidal Twitter rant

Jay Z's streaming service Tidal is off to a rough start. Photo / Getty Images

Jay Z has launched a stream of tweets defending his premium music streaming app Tidal after the service was described as a flop.

His social media diatribe comes as reports claim that Tidal - which launched last month - is being sabotaged by rivals as it attempts to take business away from more-established music outlets such as Spotify and Apple.

We are human (even Daft Punk ha). We aren't perfect - but we are determined. #TidalFacts

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015

We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow & get better. #TidalFacts

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015

There are many big companies that are spending millions on a smear campaign. We are not anti-anyone, we are pro-artist & fan. #TidalFacts

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015

The iTunes Store wasn't built in a day. It took Spotify 9 years to be successful…

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015

Jay Z, who paid US$56 million for Tidal's technology in January and relaunched it in March, went on the offensive against the supposed smear campaign.

Tidal has potential rivals including popular streaming service Spotify and tech giant Apple, though Jay Z did not post any details about the alleged campaign.

After Tidal was criticised because of the wealth of its founders, the rapper said that other big tech companies also have huge amounts of money.

Rich getting richer? Equity values... YouTube $390 billion. Apple $760 billion. Spotify $8 billion. Tidal $60 million. #TidalFacts

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) April 26, 2015

On Sunday Page Six claimed that there's also a "war" looming between Tidal and Apple.

Citing industry sources, the New York Post's gossip site alleged that tech giant Apple is trying to impede Tidal ahead of the scheduled relaunch in June of its own Beats Music by taking a long time to approve iOS updates for the Tidal app.

- Daily Mail