Many Kanye West’s fans have been left feeling absolutely gutted after learning his new album will be exclusively released via his Stem Player.
On Friday morning, the 44-year-old rapper announced his upcoming record Donda 2 – which is due to drop later this month – will only be available on his own £200 platform, as he revealed plans to snub other streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and YouTube.
Alongside a video on Instagram, which seemed to show music playing on a Stem Player, he said: ‘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.
‘It’s time to take control and build our own. Go to stemplayer.com now to order.’
According to its website, Stem Player – which is available to order for $200/£200 – is a small device that allows users to split songs into ‘stems’.
Many are disappointed by the news, as they feel like they’ll be priced out of listening to the LP.
‘And just like that I’m not listening nomo,’ wrote one fan, while another tweeted: ‘Does it look like I’m going to buy a $200 Stem Player for an album?’
A different fan pleaded: ‘Bruh I’m paying for Spotify Premium to listen to your music, don’t do this to me.’
Another added: ‘Huge Ye fan but this is a bad move. Most fans won’t be able to afford it.’
The small disc-shaped device – which retails online for £200 – can control vocals, drums, and bass as well as isolating track parts and adding effects.
In a separate post, he later wrote: ‘Donda 2 will only be streaming on my own platform, the stem player. You can download new music from stemplayer.com.
‘You can play 4 different elements of the track: vocals, drums, bass and music. It also has a MP3 player available. We currently have 67,000 available and are making 3,000 a day.’
While yet another described the move as the ‘last straw’, others defended Ye and even praised him for what one person suggested was a ‘genius’ entrepreneurial move.
Singer-songwriter Chelcee Grimes wrote: ‘OK @kanyewest has been a lil wild lately but he’s a genius when it comes to products. The new stem player and the ability to listen to music personally to you is incredible. Changing the world as we know it and you gotta respect that.’
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