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The lawsuit filed in the United States District Court in
Minnesota on Tuesday by NPG Records, claims Jay Z's Roc Nation
illegally offered such Prince hits as "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
and "1999" on its subscription-based streaming service, Tidal.
"Roc Nation, through its Tidal service, is exploiting many
copyrighted Prince works," according to the lawsuit.
While Tidal was authorized to offer some Prince songs to its
customers, the service expanded the number around the time of
the musician's death on June 7 without approval from the Prince
estate trust, it claims.
Roc Nation was not immediately available for comment on the
lawsuit, which seeks undisclosed damages.
A musical innovator, Prince notably blended elements of jazz,
funk, R&B, disco and rock in a prolific career of more than 30
albums that have sold over 36 million copies in the United
States alone since 1978. His hits included "Purple Rain," "When
Doves Cry," and "Little Red Corvette."
He was also known as fiercely determined to maintain creative
control over his music, famously changing his name to an
unpronounceable symbol for several years during a bitter
contract battle with Warner Bros.
Prince died from an accidental, self-administered overdose of
the powerful painkiller fentanyl, medical officials said in
June.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Alan Crosby)
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