Tidal Looks Into ‘Potential Data Breach’

After learning of a potential data breach, Tidal’s CEO Richard Sanders said that the company “immediately” tried to find the source of the issue, and alerted the authorities. The company has also sought outside help, MacRumors reported.

“We have engaged an independent, third-party cyber-security firm to conduct a review of what happened and help us further protect the security and integrity of our data,” Sanders said in a statement. “We are proud of the hard work, devotion to our artist-driven mission, and tremendous accomplishments of our over 100 employees in Norway and 50 more in the United States.”

The extent of the potential breach isn’t quite clear, nor is it known the kind of Tidal user data that might have been affected by such an incident, but Sanders said that the company would share the results of the review “once completed.”

Jay-Z grabbed Tidal in March 2015 for $56 million from Swedish firm Aspiro. The rap mogul then gave stakes in the firm to 19 prominent artists and made promises of millions in marketing.

Consumers pay $20 per month for access to Tidal’s approximate 40 million song catalog in Hi-Fi, or they can pay $10 a month for standard-quality sound. Tidal claims 4.2 million subscribers, most of whom were acquired along with those big exclusive releases. The company is also the only streaming service offering the catalog of the late Prince, as the singer had a personal relationship with Jay-Z  — he was otherwise unwilling to put his material on streaming services.

In 2016, Kanye West released a new album, “The Life of Pablo,” exclusively on Tidal. Kanye had originally planned to release the album jointly on his own site and Tidal but, at the last minute, made it a Tidal-only joint for the first seven days. Kanye owns a small part of Tidal through friend and owner Jay-Z, and had emphasized that all “music lovers” should subscribe to Tidal to hear the album.