Apple reportedly pulls $2million sponsorship deal with Kanye West

Apple have reportedly pulled their sponsorship deal with Kanye West.

• READ MORE: Divorce, Drake disses and problematic features: 10 talking points from Kanye West’s ‘DONDA’

It comes after West, who is now known officially as ‘Ye’, revealed earlier this week that the only way to listen to his forthcoming album ‘Donda 2’ will be via his own Stem Player.

The player is a device that was first released in conjunction with ‘Donda’ last year and allows users to remix the album’s songs using stems of vocals, drums, bass, samples and more.

Now, according to DJ Akademiks on Twitter, Apple have reportedly pulled their sponsorship deal with West over the move.

The deal, which is said to be worth $2million (£1.5milllion) was pulled according to Akademiks because they were going to stream his DONDA listening party event on February 22. 

Akademiks wrote: “Apple pulls $2 million + sponsorship deal from Kanye West after he announced he won’t be putting Donda 2 on Apple Music. They were going to stream the 2/22/22 event.”

Apple pulls $2 million + sponsorship deal from Kanye West after he announced he won’t be putting Donda 2 on Apple Music. They were going to stream the 2/22/22 event.

— DJ Akademiks (@Akademiks) February 18, 2022

In an Instagram post shared on February 18, West shared footage of an unreleased song playing on his Stem Player device. In the caption, the rapper said that ‘Donda 2’ would be available exclusively through the platform, saying it would not appear on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or YouTube.

“Today artists get just 12% of the money the industry makes. It’s time to free music from this oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own,” he wrote, directing fans to an order page for the Stem Player.

It’s not the first time Ye has claimed that one of his albums would be released exclusively through a certain platform. Back in 2016, ‘The Life Of Pablo’ was released solely to Tidal, with West claiming the album would remain a permanent exclusive to the streaming platform.

Less than two months later, it was released on other platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, prompting a lawsuit soon after, accusing West and Tidal’s Jay-Z of false advertising. The lawsuit was later settled, with its terms undisclosed.

West also appeared to reveal the tracklist for his forthcoming new album this week.

The rapper and producer is readying the sequel LP to 2021’s ‘DONDA’ for release on February 22. Future is said to be executively producing the record.

West is set to perform at Miami’s LoanDepot Park on Tuesday to celebrate the anticipated arrival of ‘DONDA 2’.

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