Having Issues Already? Jay Z’s TIDAL Company Fires Its CEO & 25 Employees

It’s barely been a month since TIDAL debuted and Jay Z‘s new streaming service is already experiencing some major waves in its administration. The music service, set to compete against Spotify, Rdio and Pandora, has reportedly laid-off/fired 26 of its employees, including its first CEO, Andy Chen.

When Jay purchased the Swedish music company Aspiro in March for $56 million, Andy Chen was named it’s CEO. But by April 17, Swedish news site Breakit was already reporting that Chen was leaving the company.

Well, that didn’t take long. The day before, on April 16, Business Insider reported that 25 employees were fired or laid-off from TIDAL, which the brand currently denies as “incorrect.” Instead, they were choosing to label the departure of so many employees as “redundancies” and as an effort in “streamlining” its workforce.

On behalf of the company, a statement was released on its state of management and operation and included was an introduction to its new CEO Peter Tonstad:

"TIDAL’s new interim CEO is Peter Tonstad – a former CEO of parent company Aspiro Group. He has a better understanding of the industry and a clear vision for how the company is looking to change the status quo. He’s streamlining resources to ensure talent is maximized to enhance the customer experience.  

We’ve eliminated a handful of positions and refocused our company-wide talent to address departments that need support and cut redundancies. TIDAL’s offices globally will remain and grow: we are already hiring for several new positions now. We’re excited about our future and what’s in-store for fans who want the best listening experience."