Last Friday’s anticipation for “Vultures 2,” the highly awaited collaboration between Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign, ended in disappointment as the album failed to materialize. Kanye’s penchant for missing self-imposed deadlines is well-known, but this time, there’s a twist. It appears that Kanye is deliberating over a groundbreaking release strategy for the album.
Recent revelations from Yenatafics, a Spanish Instagram profile dedicated to Kanye’s updates, shed light on a private conversation between the rapper and the profile. In this exchange, Kanye expressed his contemplation on how best to release “Vultures 2.” He referenced musician James Blake’s criticism of streaming platforms for their unfair compensation to artists, echoing sentiments shared by many in the industry.
Kanye proposed a bold solution: selling the album exclusively on the Yeezy website. With his massive social media following — a staggering 20 million strong — Kanye believes he has the potential to revolutionize album sales. “I have 20 million followers, if 5% of them buy my album, we’re talking about a million copies,” Kanye stated in the conversation. To put this into perspective, that’s 300 thousand more copies than last year’s best-selling album.
This strategy isn’t entirely unprecedented for Kanye. He cited the success of Yeezy merchandise sales following the Super Bowl, where a million pieces were sold. Drawing from this triumph, Kanye envisions a future where artists regain control from streaming giants. “If we succeed, we won’t have streaming companies controlling the artists anymore,” he emphasized.
Yefanatics then shared with Kanye a poll conducted on their own X profile, asking “Vultures 2 and 3 on the Yeezy site?” The result, after 15 thousand votes, was 14% yes, 86% no. To the statement “it would be nice if the album was streamed for all those fans who cannot afford to buy the album. And many others will pirate it,” Kanye responded: “It would be nice for our community if they supported these albums. Streaming is practically piracy.” On streaming, finally, a small opening: “We are thinking of not streaming the albums for a month and selling them first. Movies go to the cinema first, and then they are streamed.”
The prospect of Kanye West spearheading a paradigm shift in album distribution is undeniably intriguing. Will he succeed in upending the traditional music industry model? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure: Kanye West continues to push boundaries, both musically and entrepreneurially. Stay tuned for further developments on the saga of “Vultures 2” and Kanye’s quest for artistic autonomy.