Nicki Minaj has claimed in a rant on X that Jay-Z owes her up to $200,000,000 linked to her equity in Tidal. Minaj, who was one of 15 artists gifted a three percent stake in the streaming service upon its launch in 2015, said she was offered only $1,000,000 for her share after the company was sold to Jack Dorsey’s Square for $302,000,000 in 2021.
On X, Minaj alleged that rapper and mogul Jay-Z now owes her an amount that is almost the entire price of the sale.
“We’ve calculated about 100-200MM so far. #JayZ call me to settle this karmic debt. It’s only collecting more interest,” she wrote on X, adding that in spite of the financial dispute, “You still in my TOP 5 tho.”
RELATED STORIES
Minaj said she would use the money she claims is owed to her “to send some of my Barbz to college, pay their school fees & student loans via my #StudentOfTheGame charity.”
Minaj further called out other Roc Nation members, accusing CEO Desiree Perez of abusing her own daughter, Demoree.
Last September, Minaj shared a post from The Shade Room about the reported $8.9 million payouts received by other TIDAL co-owners, including Beyoncé and Rihanna. She mocked the reports, questioning why her photo was used and accusing some in the industry of trying to manipulate the narrative in their favor.
Jay-Z first acquired Tidal for $56 million in 2015 but the platform struggled to keep up with other music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. In 2017, Jay-Z announced that he was selling a stake in Tidal to Sprint, a telecoms company.
The $200 investment from Sprint was not enough to keep Tidal afloat as it still struggled to rival Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon music. According to Forbes, the streaming service’s financial woes had been going on for years. In 2014, it lost $10.4 million, $28 million in 2015 and then nearly $44 million in 2016.
