Kanye West’s latest album, “Vultures 1,” disappeared from Apple Music and iTunes Thursday afternoon after distribution company FUGA told Billboard it would work to remove the album, which was released by a FUGA client on Saturday despite the company previously declining to release it.
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Key Takeaways
- “Vultures 1,” Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s collaborative album which dropped Saturday, was taken off of iTunes and Apple Music Thursday afternoon, where it had previously been dominating the streaming and sales charts.
- Music distribution company FUGA told Billboard Thursday it was working to remove “Vultures 1” from its systems because a longstanding FUGA client released the album through the platform’s automated processes, “violating our service agreement.”
- FUGA had already declined to release “Vultures 1” late last year, a spokesperson told Billboard.
- Music distributors are typically able to remove content uploaded through their systems if they choose, Billboard reported.
- West had shopped “Vultures 1” around to multiple music distributors last year, some of whom declined to release the album because of West’s history of antisemitic comments, Billboard reported.
- Forbes has reached out to FUGA for comment.
Key Background
West had already faced criticism and threats of legal action against “Vultures 1” because of allegations that he sampled songs from multiple artists without permission. The track “Good (Don’t Die)” was removed from Spotify on Wednesday after Donna Summer’s estate accused him of “copyright infringement” by sampling her 1977 track, “I Feel Love,” after being denied permission. Similarly, Ozzy Osbourne tweeted on Feb. 9 that West had used a sample of his 1983 performance of “Iron Man” in his new track, “Carnival,” after being denied permission. Osbourne—who said he denied West the sample because of his history of antisemitism—reportedly threatened legal action, and the track was reportedly released without the sample.
What To Watch For
Whether the album will disappear from Spotify and other music platforms—and if it will eventually reappear. West would likely need to find a new distributor if he cannot resolve the situation with FUGA, Rolling Stone reported.
Surprising Fact
West had already accused streaming platforms of removing his music to “limit our first week numbers” in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
This article was originally published on forbes.com
