The 45-year-old music mogul acquired the music streaming service in March for $56 million, but despite receiving backing from a host of big-name artists, including Kanye West and Rihanna, the venture has failed to take off thus far.

On Tuesday (23.06.15), a spokesperson for Tidal confirmed Peter Tonstad ''is no longer with the company'' and said it ''will be transitioning to a permanent CEO as part of our strategic plan to create a leading platform''.

News of Peter's departure comes shortly after Jay Z defended the service during an intimate gig in New York City.

Before beginning his rap, Jay told the crowd: ''So I'm the bad guy now I hear, because I don't go with the flow ... I'm never gonna go with the flow, I'm never gonna let nobody take over our music ... This Tidal thing is all about the music. We gonna preserve the music, we ain't gonna let nobody take our music. We ain't gonna let nobody offer our music up and do what the f**k they want to do.''

He then launched into a freestyle rap attack, spitting the lyrics: ''I don't need no middle man to talk to my n****s .... I don't take no cheques. I take my respect. Pharrell even told me go with the safest bet. Jimmy Iovine offered a safety net. Google dangled around a crazy cheque.

''I feel like YouTube is the biggest culprit. Them n-gas pay you a tenth of what you supposed to get. You know n****s die for equal pay, right? You know when I work I ain't your slave, right? (sic)''