Kanye’s new album might be released as free iTunes exclusive

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Yeezus is ready to launch Apple's new music streaming service.
Yeezus is ready to launch Apple's new music streaming service.
Photo: Adweek

Kanye West was part of Jay Z’s small army of megastars that helped launch Tidal, but when it comes to his next album, Ye is reportedly looking to take the U2 route by releasing it on iTunes for free.

According to a new rumor on Twitter, Apple and Kanye are joining forces for the launch of the company’s new music streaming service. As a gift to the fans, Yeezy has agreed to release his new album ‘Swish’ for free after Apple paid him nearly double what he expected to make of album sales.

The rumors comes from a @ye3zy3 on Twitter who doesn’t have a massive following but did correctly predict the launch of the Yeezy Boost sneakers two months in advance. It’s not the first time we’ve heard that Kanye and Apple might be teaming up, but the rumor should still be taken with a grain of salt.

Kanye has long had an infatuation with Apple and Steve Jobs in particular, calling him one of his biggest influence. He was gifted a mouse signed by Steve Jobs and even let Steve Wozniak be one of the first persons to meet his daughter Nori. Despite his love for Apple though, the relationship between the two hasn’t always been smooth. Last year West criticized Apple for not paying artists that perform at the annual iTunes Music Festival. Apple usually trades extra promotion on iTunes for the free concerts, which prompted Yeezy to tell Tim Cook “You are rich as fuck. Quit trying to act like you’re so dumb.”

The announcement of Kanye’s exclusive new album will supposedly come as soon as next week (perfect timing for WWDC). Kanye hasn’t announced a release date for his album and has hinted he’ll take the Drake and Beyonce route or surprise release after telling The Breakfast Club earlier this year that release dates are “played out.”

Source: YeezyTalk

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