Photo: Engadget
Kanye West has announced that his latest album, “Donda 2,” will not be available on any other streaming platform but from a so-called Stem Player for $200.
His Instagram post read: “Donda 2 will only be available on my platform, the Stem Player. Not on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, or YouTube.” Moreover, the reason behind the exclusivity lies in how artists are compensated when their songs are released on those platforms.
“Today artists get just 12 percent of the money the industry makes,” he continued together with a short video from the new album. “It’s time to free music from this oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own. Go to stemplayer.com now to order.”
According to the website – which advises you to read every piece of information in all caps, feeling like West is yelling at you to swallow the pill and payout your hard-earned money – the platform is worth $200.
The player’s edge from other platforms is different from the one on this site. For example, consumers can customize any song, download new tracks and put in effects such as echo or feedback to make their experience more fun.
On Thursday, West wrote in another Instagram post additional information about the player, “You can play four different elements of the track: vocals, drums, bass, and music. It also has an MP3 player available.”
West revealed what appeared to be a tracklisting for “Donda 2,” the offshoot of his previous album in 2021, “Donda.” He also talked about Stem Player in more Instagram posts, encouraging fans to “be a part of the revolution.”
“I feel that same feeling like when I first moved to New York to make it in music. I ain’t know what was gonna happen, but I knew I had to move. After ten albums, after being under ten contracts. I turned down a hundred-million-dollar Apple deal,” his post read, further stating, “No one can pay me to be disrespected.”
He also said that Stem Player lets him name his price for his art.
“Tech companies made music practically free, so if you don’t do merch sneakers and tours, you don’t eat,” he further said. “Jay-Z made Tidal and fake media attacked him. Well, in the words of my big brother, come and get me. I’m willing to die standing ’cause I ain’t living on my knees no more.”
West said there are currently 67,000 active Stem Players and 3,000 new ones created every day.
