UPDATE: Jay Z’s solo catalog has been pulled from Spotify and Apple Music, but remains available on Tidal, which he founded and controls. Jay Z had pulled his debut album “Reasonable Doubt” from all streaming services except for Tidal when he launched the service. Last year, his Blueprint series was removed, but this is the first wholesale takedown.
In a statement to The Verge, Spotify said the removal of Jay Z’s catalog was done “at the request of the artist.”
As of Friday night, Google Play and Amazon Music still had Jay Z’s catalog up. It’s likely only a matter of time before it goes missing there, as well.
UPDATE: The industry rumor mill is sharing that the cause of Jay Z’s sudden exit from Spotify and Apple Music is his Tidal streaming service’s recent deal with Sprint which promises more “exclusive content.”
We’ll post more updates on this story as it develops.