News January 31, 2019

Kanye West’s ‘Life Of Pablo’ lawsuit has been dismissed

Image: Ryan Dorgan/The New York Times

The lawsuit between Kanye West and an angry fan in regards to his 2016 album, The Life Of Pablo, has reportedly been dismissed.

Back in early 2016, Kanye West released his seventh studio album, The Life Of Pablo. While the record was met with positive critical reception, both Kanye West and Tidal soon became the subject of a class action lawsuit filed on behalf on music fan Justin Baker-Rhett.

The class action claimed that West and the streaming service engaged in “deceptive conduct” by duping fans into signing up to the streaming service under the false belief that it was the only way to hear West’s new album.

As it turned out, The Life Of Pablo was released on Apple Music and Spotify within a month of its release on Tidal, prompting the suit. The class action referenced a Tweet by Kanye, who wrote: “My album will never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale… You can only get it on Tidal.”

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However, this was obviously refuted by Kanye West who, in a motion to have the case dismissed, claimed that the version available on Tidal was indeed exclusive to the service.

Referencing another one of his Tweets, West noted that the record was a “living breathing changing creative expression” which was “updated and remixed numerous times, with different vocals, lyrics, and arrangements”.

West claimed that the version on Tidal was exclusive, while other available versions of the album were different.

Back in 2018, a US District Court Judge ruled that Kanye would have to face the music in regards to this lawsuit, noting that “Mr. West’s argument is tenuous, and certainly does not pass muster in the context of a motion to dismiss.”

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However, as The Blast reports, it appears that both Kanye West and Justin Baker-Rhett have buried the hatchet, reaching an agreement that has indeed seen the case dismissed.

Court documents filed by Baker-Rhett on January 29th explained that both he and Kanye “hereby stipulate and agree to the dismissal of Plaintiff’s individual claims with prejudice and the putative class’s claims without prejudice, with each party to bear its own attorney fees and costs.”

In a statement given to Pitchfork, Tidal explained that, “TIDAL, Mr. West and Mr. Baker-Rhett have resolved their differences amicably and the lawsuit has been dismissed.”

At this stage, it’s not clear whether or not any money was exchanged in the dismissal of the case, but it does seem as though artists might want to be more careful about announcing the exclusivity of their records.