The Purple Rain icon was among the headliners for the big gig when the line-up was announced last month (Sep15), but it appears he has since scrapped the performance.

Sources tell Pitchfork.com Prince will no longer be hitting the stage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday, when Jay Z, Beyonce, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Nick Jonas, Lil Wayne and T.I., among many other artists, will perform. No reason was given for Prince's alleged cancellation, while the singer's representatives have yet to comment on the news.

Jay Z, one of the star investors in the Tidal music streaming app, revealed plans for the one-off show in late September (15) to celebrate the service hitting the one million subscriber mark.

Proceeds from the Tidal X: 1020 gig, which will be streamed live online, will benefit the community charity New World Foundation.

Prince has previously given the app his seal of approval after pulling his music from all other streaming services, including rival Spotify, and releasing his latest album, HitNRun, exclusively on Tidal. At the time of the album announcement last month (Sep15), he publicly praised Tidal and insisted he prefers to release albums online, rather than submit to the "slavery" of a record contract.

"Record contracts are just like - I'm gonna say the word - slavery," said the singer, who famously appeared in public with the word 'slave' written on his cheek during his legal battle with Warner Bros. bosses in the early 1990s. "I would tell any young artist... 'Don't sign'... Once we have our own resources, we can provide what we need for ourselves."

He added, "Jay Z spent $100 million of his own money to build his own service. We have to show support for artists who are trying to own things for themselves."

The rap mogul launched the streaming service in March (15) with co-owners including Beyonce, Usher, Minaj, Rihanna, Madonna, Kanye West and Daft Punk, but the stars faced a backlash from critics over the company's subscription fees, amid concerns the lack of a free service, which is provided by Spotify, could drive music-lovers back to illegal downloads.