Kanye West: There Will Be ‘No More CDs From Me’
UPDATE: Kanye West will upload a new version of “Wolves,” from his latest album The Life of Pablo, to Tidal tonight, a representative for the streaming service confirmed to Pitchfork. West also tweeted: “Fixing Wolves 2day… Worked on it for 3 weeks. Life Of Pablo is a living breathing changing creative expression.” Previously, the rapper uploaded a new version of album cut, “Famous.”
Kanye West is done with CDs. In a series of tweets on Monday, the rapper denounced the format.
“I was thinking about not making CDs ever again … only streaming,” he wrote.
He then turned his attention to his minimally packaged 2013 record Yeezus, which came in a stark jewel case with simply a red sticker on it. “The Yeezus album packaging was an open casket to CDs. R.I.P.,” he wrote. “Uuuuuuum, so there it is. … No more CDs from me.”
The rapper’s latest album, The Life of Pablo, is only currently available via the streaming service Tidal. When the rapper announced the release of the new LP during a broadcast of Saturday Night Live, he said it would be available on Tidal and as a download on his website, KanyeWest.com. He backtracked on the latter claim later that week, though, and instead embedded a Tidal stream on his website’s main page. It was available as a $20 download for a short period, according to Pigeons and Planes, but was later transitioned into a streaming-only release, with West asking fans to subscribe to Tidal.
West is a co-owner in Tidal, along with more than a dozen other rap, pop and rock artists. At the time of the album’s release, he claimed he would never make The Life of Pablo available on other streaming platforms, like Apple Music. In late February, West tweeted that he was happy his song “Waves” was the Number One streamed song on Billboard.
West launched the album with a listening party at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, which was broadcast live on Tidal. He also presented his new fashion line, Yeezy Season 3.