Kanye West's 'Donda 2' Album Not Coming to Apple Music

[MacRumors]

Kanye West, now known officially as "Ye," does not plan to release his next album, "Donda 2," on streaming services that include Apple Music and Spotify, opting instead for a proprietary platform.

Ye said today on Instagram that "Donda 2" will be available only on the Stem Player, a $200 device that was released with the initial "Donda" album pre-installed. The Stem Player is designed to allow users to "customize any song" with controls for vocals, drums, bass, effects, and more.

As an explanation for why the album will not be coming to major streaming platforms, Ye said that artists "get just 12% of the money the industry makes," and that it's "time to free music from this oppressive system."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)​

The Stem Player was developed in partnership with Kano Computing, and Ye is ramping up production to meet demand. Ye said that there are 67,000 units available, and 3,000 units are being manufactured each day.

Ye has in the past claimed that an album will be exclusive only to release it on streaming services later. Back in 2016, he said that his album "The Life of Pablo" would "never never never" come to Apple Music, only to release it on Apple Music a month later.

"Donda 2" is expected to launch next week, on February 22, and the Stem Player can be purchased online.

Article Link: Kanye West's 'Donda 2' Album Not Coming to Apple Music

 

[jyw104]

No loss tbh

 

[1300767]

Couldnt care less about him, Im more into death metal and funeral doom anyways.

 

[sviato]

Donda 1 was pretty out there... not sure who is going to spend $200 for a separate device for Donda 2

 

[sunapple]

It will come a little later then.

 

[kiensoy]

Lol he just wants to sell his crappy gadget and after that he will add the album to all streaming platforms. So obvious.

 

[AngerDanger]

We had a decade of knockoff iPods, and it took another to bring us a poorly cut out smoke detector

 

[icanhazmac]

Proprietary player? Is this 2001?

Good luck with that.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

You need some very special talent, to make a device THIS ugly. ?

 

[Zaren]

The doodad looks interesting, at least.

 

[crees!]

I already have a device with me that can play music at all times. I don’t need another one.

 

[kemal]

The player sounds interesting. What else can it play? How low can one turn the volume?

 

[emlarsen]

That's totally fine with me. He hasn't released anything decent since yeezus.

 

[mansplains]

That's totally fine with me. He hasn't released anything decent since yeezus.

My ubisoft username is 'yeezueoverdonda', yeezus is so good

 

[SenorWhyMe]

 

[drumpat01]

anyone who really wants the album can simply go to any pirate website and download it later that day it comes out. I do think the player is a novel idea, but gimmicky. Most people just want to listen to the music as it was written. I mean how often are you going to really sit there and remix the track as you listen to it?

 

[DotCom2]

This is as strange as he is.

 

[ChpTrk]

Todd Rundgren was years ahead of this in 1993.

 

[Rafterman]

"time to free music from this oppressive system."

So...require buyers to buy a $200 device? That sounds pretty oppressive too.

He's talented. But ****ed in the head.

 

[Jason2000]

Darn. There goes my weekend.

 

[applicious84]

The The Stem Player is gonna trump all the other services and hardware.

 

[k1121j]

Well then I guess he isn’t selling many tracks.

 

[Macintosh TV]

The doodad looks interesting, at least.

Until you spend $200 on it and they go outta business a couple months later and stop supporting it.

 

[jayducharme]

Ye said that artists "get just 12% of the money the industry makes," and that it's "time to free music from this oppressive system."

So in other words, now he'll be making the equivalent of 2% of what the industry makes. While I agree that the recording industry robs many artists blind, the industry is what gave him the exposure to get where he is. And when you have your song streamed a billion times, that 12% adds up fast.

 

[dannyyankou]

I don't like his music, but the streaming platform actually seems interesting.