Go backstage with The Music and receive FREE:

  • Exclusive members-only editorial, charts
  • Our subscriber-only newsletter
  • Members only competitions to win tickets, experiences and more
  • Access to our street press archives
  • First access to our exclusive limited edition vinyl variants

Thank you for being a part of our community! Enter your email address as verification and you'll be taken backstage right away.

Please ensure that you provide a valid email address.

Huge Kanye Sales Revealed Following Shock Album Plan

Staff Writer

"To earn the $2.2 million we made on the first day on the stem player the album would have had to stream 500 million times."

More Kanye West Kanye West Profile

Kanye West last week announced that his forthcoming album Donda 2 will not release on streaming platforms.

In an Instagram post, he stated, “Donda 2 will only be available on my own platform, the Stem Player.

"Not 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.

"After 10 albums after being under 10 contracts. I turned down a hundred million dollar Apple deal. No one can pay me to be disrespected. We set our own price for our art."

The album, which is set to release on February 22, will only be available on Kanye West's stem player, controlled exclusively on his own platform. 

On Saturday (Sunday local time), he shared the sales of the $200 Stem Player since revealing the album would be exclusively released and distributed on there.

“We’ve made $2,227,012.05 in 24 hours,” Ye wrote.

“God is good. Thank you guys for taking this journey. To earn the $2.2 million we made on the first day on the stem player the album would have had to stream 500 million times.

"We did more revenue on stemplayer, without the album even being out, than we would have done with the album being out on streaming."

Join 'Backstage Pass', our FREE members program for music fans