The much discussed Tidal revolution seems to already be taking effect. Having purchased the new streaming service as part of a joint venture and re-launching it as an “artist friendly” business model, Jay Z has removed his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt from Spotify.

The rapper removed his album overnight between Monday and Tuesday, and it is currently unavailable to stream in the US and Canada. It is, for the moment, still accessible for UK users. Instead, North American fans can find it on – you guessed it – Tidal.

Jay Z
Jay Z has removed his debut album 'Reasonable Doubt' from Spotify

Jay Z has previously stated that Tidal is not intended to be a direct rival to Spotify, but instead an attempt to “strike an honest blow” in shaping the future of music and how artists get remunerated for their work.

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This time last week (March 30th) Jigga was part of an all-star relaunch for Tidal in New York, a few months after he and a business consortium had acquired the site from its Norwegian parent company Aspiro for roughly $47 million.

Stars such as his wife Beyonce, his sometime collaborator Kanye West, Madonna, Rihanna, Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, Jack White, Nicki Minaj, Deadmau5 and Alicia Keys all attended the press gathering.

Since then, Beyonce made the video for her new single ‘Die With You’ exclusively available to stream on Tidal. The site also focusses significantly on video content, with archival footage such as Daft Punk’s mini-movie Electroma being available.

Tidal’s other major selling points are touted to be its lossless, high quality audio and its carefully curated editorial content. However, its comparatively high prices, combined with the lack of any kind of free version, have attracted criticism in some quarters, notably by British singer Lily Allen who believes that this will drive fans back to illegal downloads.

More: Beyonce drops new video – but it’s only available on Tidal