Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo stream takes Tidal to top of App Store

The rapper has removed a download of the album from his website, to try and persuade fans to use Jay-Z's streaming app

Kanye didn’t perform, instead choosing to stream his record through the loudspeakers (Rex Features)

Tidal is now top of the App Store, after Kanye West urged users to subscribe to the troubled streaming app and listen to his new album.

Jay-Z’s streaming app has been mocked by many since it was unveiled last year. But it has an exclusive stream of West’s new album, The Life Of Pablo, and has gone to the top of the App Store since he urged “all music lovers” to subscribe to Tidal.

The app quickly became the most popular app being downloaded for iPhones, and was number 30 in the App Store’s “Top Grossing” section.

Tidal is also top of the App Store’s “Trending Searches” section. It isn’t clear how Apple puts together that list, but it appears to highlight searches that are enjoying particular popularity at any time, compared with their usual volume.

West himself tweeted about the success of the app.

West released the new album over the weekend. It was initially available on Tidal and for download from his website — but he said that latter option would be stopped to encourage people to stream it.

Tidal has been central in the release of The Life of Pablo. It hosted a stream of the album in full, as well as running a live stream of the Yeezy Season 3 launch that saw the premiere of the album — a stream that was hit by technical glitches after too many people tried to log on.

West also claimed that the company is “funding a lot of my scripted content ideas”. “It’s a new day people,” he wrote.

Tidal is owned and established by Jay-Z, who has had a close relationship with West since they worked together on The Blueprint.

But many still doubt the success of Tidal. The first tweet under Kanye’s post was a message referencing Mean Girls and doubting the success of the streaming service.

It isn’t clear how many new people have subscribed to Tidal, which offers a 30 day free trial to new users.