Kanye West has said that songwriters have been “hurt” by streaming services.
The 44-year-old rap star – who decided to release his new album ‘Donda 2’ exclusively on the Stem player device – claimed he is now the “leading innovator” in music after walking away from services such as Apple Music and Spotify.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, he wrote: “I walked away from Apple right after having the most number 1’s in Apple history. Song Writers have been really hurt by streaming platforms. Some say I’m the only one who can make this change. So as the leading innovator in music of the past 20 years. I’m putting my own work on the line to change it. I’ve already won by not being afraid to move!
Now we’re winning because there are true supporters that have invested their hard earned money in my vision of freedom!”
The ‘Stronger’ rapper – who has four children with ex Kim Kardashian and legally changed his name to Ye in 2021 – announced his decision to release ‘Donda 2’ only on the £150 device because of how little artists earn in royalties from streaming platforms.
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.”
The ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ hitmaker went on to assert that it is time to “free music” from an “oppressive system” as he urged fans to order the music device allows users to customise songs by splitting them into ‘stems.’
He added: “It’s time to free music from this oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own.”