Kanye West Fans Seek Tidal Tweet Class Action Certification

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A group of Kanye West fans want Class certification granted in their class action lawsuit alleging that they were tricked into subscribing to Tidal music service.

The plaintiffs, who want to be certified as Class Members, say they were all tricked in the same manner with the Tidal music service promoted by the rapper.

According to the Kanye West Tidal music class action lawsuit, one of the rapper’s tweets, in particular, encouraged fans to sign up for the Tidal music service.

The music service was promoted as being $10 a month and would provide direct access for fans who wanted to listen to “The Life of Pablo” album by West.

The Kanye West class action lawsuit plaintiffs say that they subscribed to the music service because they were told by West that the music would not be available elsewhere at any point in time.

The Kanye West Tidal music class action lawsuit certification will likely hinge on whether common issues affect all of the plaintiffs. One issue at heart in this case, for example, is whether or not Kanye West knew the statement was untrue when he made it.

The plaintiffs in this Kanye West class action lawsuit say that the streamlining of the case will make it easier for the court to hear all of the claims together, particularly since the group alleges that they all signed up for the service based on one tweet made by the rapper.

Aspiro AB, one of the defendants in this Kanye West class action lawsuit, owns the Tidal music service. Aspiro AB is owned by Jay Z, and that company provided ownership options in the company.

Kanye West has reportedly promoted the Tidal music service to his audience on social media, which includes more than 28 million people.

The Kanye West Tidal class action lawsuit filed by lead plaintiff Justin Baker-Rhett alleges that following the tweet in question, listeners of Kanye’s album on Tidal streamed it 400 million times.

According to the Kanye West album class action lawsuit, Kanye West tweeted that his music would never be available on Apple or anywhere else and that the only way for listeners to hear the album was by signing up for the service.

Proposed Class Members could include anyone in the United States who signed up for the streaming service following West’s tweet on Feb. 15, 2016 and before April 1, 2016, when the album became available elsewhere.

In order to become a Class Member, the person would have had to stream “The Life of Pablo” album within the first 24 hours of signing up for Tidal.

Baker-Rhett is represented by Jay Edelson, Benjamin H. Richman and Sydney M. Janzen of Edelson PC and Fred D. Weinstein of Kurzman Eizenberg Corbin & Lever LLP.

The Kanye West Tidal Class Action Lawsuit is Justin Baker-Rhett v. Aspiro AB and Kanye West, Case No. 1:16-cv-05801-GHW, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: On Oct. 3, 2018, Kanye West asked a New York federal judge to not certify a proposed Class of Tidal subscribers who filed a class action lawsuitagainst the rapper over an allegedly misleading tweet.