Kanye West’s “Life of Pablo” Hits Apple Music [u]

Kanye West’s latest album “Life of Pablo” has reached Apple Music today, confirming a Re/Code report from yesterday. Previously, the album has exclusively been available on Tidal, with West declaring the album would never be released on any other music streaming service.

However, singles from the album began appearing on Apple Music and Spotify earlier this week and now, the complete album is available.

“Probably. Because we are talking about Kanye West, so things are never locked down until they are locked down. “That’s what we believe,” said one industry source. “That’s what we understand to be the case,” said another. 

The fact that any of this is a question is a testament to Kanye West’s clout. Because in theory, his new album should have always been available on multiple streaming services, since his label, Universal Music Group, doesn’t have exclusive distribution agreements”.

The source has also learned the reason that changed Kanye West’s mind is that by moving the album outside of Tidal, it allows West to start receiving payments for the streams the album generates, as well as marketing support from his label. As long as the album was locked up on Tidal, that wasn’t going to happen.

Here’s a tweet from Yeezy saying he would like some money in a very “Kanye” way:

I write this to you my brothers while still 53 million dollars in personal debt… Please pray we overcome… This is my true heart…

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest)

February 14, 2016

Update: Story updated to reflect the album is now on Apple Music.