News June 24, 2018

Kanye West set to go to trial over infamous Life Of Pablo lawsuit

If you think this year has already seen its fair share of Kanye West action, including ARIA #1 albums, rants about slavery, and pro-Trump support, then you’re in for a wild ride in regards to the rest of the year, with a US judge ruling that West must go to trial over his 2016 The Life Of Pablo lawsuit.

You might recall how back in 2017 it was revealed that Kanye West and Tidal were the subject of a class action lawsuit filed on behalf on music fan Justin Baker-Rhett. The class action claims that West and the streaming service engaged in “deceptive conduct” by duping fans into signing up to the streaming service under the belief it was the only possible way to hear the album.

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 references 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.”

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 of his Tweets that 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.

However, that certainly wasn’t the end of it, with Pitchfork noting that US District Court Judge Gregory Woods has granted Tidal’s motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit, but denied other parts of their motion, meaning that the case will go forward as it relates to Kanye’s infamous Tweet.

While Judge Woods explained that “Mr. West’s argument is tenuous, and certainly does not pass muster in the context of a motion to dismiss,” Justin Baker-Rhett’s lawyer, Jay Edelson has applauded the decision, noting that the court has “accepted our core premise: what we alleged constitutes consumer fraud.”

I just FaceTimed #kanye, told him I’m his biggest fan. Holey s@ I’m going to depose him.
Tidal #privacy suit motion to dismiss denied in relevant part!!!!! #classaction @edelsonpc
— Jay Edelson (@jayedelson) June 22, 2018

In a statement to Pitchfork, Edelson explained “The court wants us to amend our pleadings and, based on how it decided certain issues, we won’t easily be able to have one nationwide class. That means that we will be bringing a bunch of state-by-state class actions. This is a bit of a ‘be careful what you wish for’ situation for the defendants.”

“We now will have a chance to move on with this case, including deposing Kanye.”

Neither Kanye West or Tidal have responded to the recent ruling publicly.