The news: Donda 2 will be available exclusively on the artist’s own tech product, the Stem Player, according to Kanye West (not yet tracked).
- In protest of the “oppresive system” of streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify, Ye will not release his upcoming album for streaming
- Ye cites the fact that artists “get just 12% of the money the industry makes” and says that “It’s time to free music from this oppressive system”
- The artist’s Stem Player is a lossless MP3 player with the ability to add efects and isolate audio channels
Ian’s take: Okay, I love Kanye West, and the Stem Player has some exciting capabilities, but I am not spending $200 on an MP3 player to listen to the album. That being said, I wasn’t aware that artists make just 12% of what the industry makes. I think that streaming services should pay artists more per stream since the entire value of the services is given by the artists.
