Looking to buy Kanye’s new CD? You may be out of luck. The rap juggernaut has made a series of statements over Twitter asserting that he will stick to streaming new material. Check out the statements from the outspoken rapper below.
Uuuuum… hi everybody!
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 7, 2016
I was thinking about not making CDs ever again… Only streaming
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 7, 2016
the Yeezus album packaging was an open casket to CDs r.i.p
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 7, 2016
uuuuuuum, so there it is… No more CDs from me
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 7, 2016
This decision is possibly one that was made long ago. West’s Life of Pablo album was released as a Tidal exclusive, and still can only be heard (legally) through the streaming service. West has not released an album in physical form since the open casket Yeezus in 2013.
While streaming seems to be the obvious future of music, West’s ahead-of-the-curve move away from all non-streaming formats may have backfired; The Life of Pablo has been pirated over half a million times via The Pirate Bay, a move that could be been obviated had the album or other mediums been available to Tidal skeptics.
Kanye has deliberated the decision to press legal action against the music pirates. But it seems that the self-dubbed rap genius is now looking forward; he is already working on new material and ambitiously promising a new album by summer 2016. Only time will tell when and how Kanye decides to share his music with us.