We reported yesterday that Prince’s estate rejected Jay Z/Tidal’s $40 million offer for the late singer’s catalog. Well, more details have emerged regarding the decision. Billboard is reporting that the $40 million offer may or may not have been true, and that Roc Nation is gearing up to battle Universal Music Publishing Group on rightful ownership of Prince’s entire song catalog. On Friday, November 11, Roc Nation filed paperwork in Minnesota claiming that their pre-existing contract with the estate gave Tidal exclusive streaming distribution rights. Roc Nation is also asking for “access to information concerning Bremer Trust’s business dealings in its capacity as Special Administrator” for Prince’s estate. UMPG won the bidding war and obtained exclusive worldwide publishing rights for Prince’s entire catalogue (including released and unreleased music), which they publicly announced on November 2. Nevertheless, Roc Nation believes they are the rightful owners. Bremer’s Trust, however, held off on telling Roc Nation or Tidal about any business dealings, which included the UMPG deal. Roc Nation claims that if the estate grants streaming access to the catalog to other streaming service providers, then this would violate the terms of the agreement offered to Tidal. Read more here…
