NEW YORK: Rap mogul Jay-Z has sued the original owners of his Tidal streaming service for allegedly inflating subscriber figures, in the latest twist to the company’s uneven relaunch.

Jay-Z last year bought Tidal from Aspiro, a tech company based in Norway and listed in Sweden, for 464 million Swedish kronor ($56 million) as he sought to enter the fast-growing streaming sector and challenge leader Spotify.

“It became clear after taking control of Tidal and conducting our own audit that the total number of subscribers was actually well below the 540,000 reported to us by the prior owners,” Tidal said in a statement.

“As a result, we have now served legal notice to parties involved in the sale,” it said, declining further details due to the litigation.

The lawsuit was first reported by the Norwegian business newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv, which said that Jay-Z’s business arm Project Panther Bidco sent a notice to several Aspiro board members.